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The Way Made Plain

By the

Rev. JAMES H. BROOKES, D. D.

Juthor of **Hozu to be Saved^^ etc.

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PHILADELPHIA :

American Sunday-School Union,

[8i6 Chestnut Street

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PREFACE

THOSE who carefully read the first tMrteen verses
of the tenth chapter of Romans cannot fail to
perceive the logical order and marvellous clearness
with which the Holy Ghost there sets forth the Way
of Life. It is the aim of this little book to follow that
order, and in some feeble measure to reflect that
clearness. Hence the Scriptures are closely followed
at every step of the argument, because they alone can
guide our feet in the paths of peace.

Frequently has the author, when dealing with in-
quiring souls, undertaken a simple exposition of this
instructive and interesting passage, and often has the
Lord been pleased to own it in imparting light to the
darkened understanding and comfort to the troubled
heart of the anxious sinner. To his blessing and favor
it is now commended with, the, earnest prayer that, as
sent forth by th-i , Ajnerioan Sunday-School Union, it
may be more greatly owned in His service, to the glory
of Father, Son, and Holy Ghosf forever.

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CONTENTS

CHAP.

II.

III.

IV.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

XII.

XIII.

XIV.

XV.

XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

XIX.

XX.

PAGE

Man's Need of Salvation ... 7
Man's Need of Salvation . . .19
Man's Sincerity Cannot Save Him . 29
Man's Sincerity Cannot Save Him . 40
Man's Righteousness Cannot Save Him 54
Man's Righteousness Cannot Save Him 62
Christ the Saviour of the Believer . yj
Christ the Saviour of the Believer . ZZ
No Hope for the Sinner in the Law . 103
No Hope for the Sinner in the Law . 115
Nothing Between the Sinner and the

Saviour 132

Nothing Between the Sinner and the

Saviour i44

Belief and Confession . . .163
Belief and Confession . . .176
The Believer's Safety . . .194
The Believer's Safety . . . 208
The Believer Calling on the Lord . 229
The Believer Calling on the Lord . 245
Assurance of Faith .... 263
Assurance of Faith .... 278
Index 299

The Way Made Plain

CHAPTEE I

MAN'S NEED OF SALVATION

" Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that
they might be saved." — Romans x. 1.

IN the great work of delivering lost men from the
ruin in which they are involved, the Holy Ghost
produces the conviction that they need to be saved.
Without this conviction " they are like the deaf adder
that stoppeth her ear ; which will not hearken to the
voice of charmers, charming never so wisely." * How-
ever alarming their state as " strangers from the cove-
nants of promise, having no hope, and without God in
the world," ^ and however appalling their peril as ex-
posed to the righteous infliction of " indignation and
wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of
man that doeth evil," ^ they neither understand their
condition nor perceive their danger until made to feel
that they are sinners.

There are multitudes of our race of whom it can be
truthfully said that " they are the enemies of the cross
of Christ : whose end is destruction, whose God is
their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who

» Ps. Iviii. 4, 5. 2 Eph. ii. 12. ^jjora. ii. 8, 9.

8 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

mind earthly things ; " * and yet they go their down-
ward way profoundly indifferent to their guilt and
their doom. They eat and drink, they awake and
sleep, they give their thoughts and time entirely to
the pursuits of the world, and run their round of
business or of pleasure, without one correct concep-
tion of the Being who made them, and without one
spark of spiritual life.

Their ignorance of their real character and their
insensibility to their eternal interests furnish con-
clusive evidence both of their sinfulness and of their
deplorable unconsciousness of sin. Hence the first
practical step towards their recovery is taken when
the Divine Spirit, whose office it is to " reprove [or
rather, to convince] the world of sin, and of righteous-
ness, and of judgment," ^ leads them to see that they
are undone, and need an ahnighty Arm to rescue
them from impending destruction.

The agency He employs in teaching them this
essential and fundamental truth is the revealed word
of God, or the Sacred Scriptures, whether communi-
cated in the pulpit or through the press ; whether
made known in public instruction or in private study ;
whether carried to the heart by a popular address or
by a personal appeal. " By the word of the Lord
were the heavens made," ^ and in the new creation
" the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper
than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the divi-
ding asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents

»Phil. iii. 18, 19. ^ j^^jq ^vi. 8. ^Ps. xxxiii. 6.

man's need of salvation 9

of the heart." ' " Faith cometh by hearing, and hear-
mg by the word of God." ^

If, therefore, we would inquire whether man, as
such, and as born into the world, is in urgent need
of salvation, we must surely consult the testimony of
the " word of God, which liveth and abideth for
ever." ^ Eemember, it is the word of God^ and He
is too wise to err, too holy to tell a lie, too just to
bring false accusations against His creatures, and too
kind to heap upon them undeserved reproaches. Let
those who claim that they are entitled to His favor
on the ground of their own merits make good their
claim, and most gladly will He recognize it and bestow
upon them the full reward of their vu^tue. He is not
an unfeeling t3rrant rejoicing in the exercise of an un-
restrained power to crush and kill ; nor is He an un-
merciful Judge, eagerly inclining to inflict upon the
terrified delinquent the extremest rigors of the law
without regard to the palliating circumstances under
which the offence was committed. Not only His
name, but His very nature, is " Love ; " ^ and it is cer-
tain that His testimony concerning man, and His
sentence in view of that testimony, are in perfect
harmony with His boundless benevolence and His
inexhaustible patience.

But every one must at once see the utter absurdity
of accepting as true the revelation which He has made
of His attributes in the Bible, and of rejecting as false
the revelation which He has made in the same Bible

^Heb. iv. 12. ^j^om. x. 17.

5 1 Peter i. 23. * 1 John iv. 8.

10 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

of ourselves. Either all is true or all is false, or, at
best, there is no criterion to distinguish the true from
the false, except the odd fancies and foolish whims of
the reader. If one is at liberty to set aside as in-
credible what the Scriptures affirm of man's char-
acteristics, another is at equal liberty to treat with
contempt what they declare of God's perfections ;
and thus are we hurled back into the darkness of
nature, or left to grope our way to the unknown
future by the feeble glimmerings of reason.

It must be obvious, after a moment's reflection, that
consistency, logic, and sound sense require us to place
the teachings of the Bible on a common footing with
respect to their authority, authenticity, and genuine-
ness. Especially is our faith demanded in a doctrine
which pervades the whole book from first to last, and
which is interwoven in all the narratives, in all the
Psalms, in all the prophecies, in all the parables, in
all the sermons, and in all the epistles, that are con-
tained in the inspired records. If, then, it can be
shown that a uniform testimony is borne from Genesis
to Eevelation touching man's pressing need of salva-
tion, we are compelled to conclude that by nature we
are fallen, lost, and ruined ; or, as the only alterna-
tive, we are forced to deny that God has spoken the
truth in His blessed Word.

My argument here is not designed for the sceptic
who can never be convinced of his fatal error by hu-
man wisdom, but for the reader whose ear has been
opened to hear the " still small voice " ' breathing

*1 Kiiii^s xix. 12.

man's need of salvation 11

through the Book of books, and whose head is rever-
ently bowed in the presence of its recognized divinity.
Taking it for granted that those for whom these pages
are intended are, through infinite grace, j^ast the dreary
region of infidehty, and that they are now turning to
the " living oracles " * with the docility of the child
Samuel, who said, " Speak, Loed ; for thy servant
heareth," ^ I desire to sum up briefly the solemn tes-
timony which God gives of man's condition apart
from redeeming love, and, therefore, of man's un-
speakable need of salvation.

I. We assuredly learn from the language which I
have placed at the beginning of this chapter that the
Jews as a people, although they were highly favored
above all the nations of the earth, were not delivered
from the curse and dominion of sin ; for the apostle
writes, "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to
God for Israel is, that they might be saved." This
earnest expression of concern for his countrymen
would of course be meaningless or self -contradictory
if they were not under the condemnation of God's
broken law ; and hence the inspired writer, " moved
by the Holy Ghost," ^ asserts that they were still un-
saved. The unavoidable inference which we thus
gather from his words will be confirmed, and the ar-
gument to prove man's need of salvation will be
strengthened, if we glance at other statements rela-
tive to the condition of the Jewish nation. In the
ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Eomans, for exam-
ple, the same inspired writer exclaims with the great-

1 Acts vii. 38. ' j gam. Hi. 9. 3 2 Peter i. 21.

12 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

est emotion, " I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my
conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in
my heart. For I could wish that myself were ac-
cursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen ac-
cording to the flesh : who are Israelites ; to whom
pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the cov-
enants, and the giving of the law, and the service of
God, and the promises ; whose are the fathers, and of
whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over
all, God blessed for ever. Amen." '

The great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart
expressed in this touching assurance, and the astound-
ing declaration that he could wish that himself were
accursed from Christ for his brethren, his kinsmen ac-
cording to the flesh, are wholly unaccountable on the
supposition that they were already saved. No, they
were lost ! and the apostle, taught by the Spirit, knew
they were lost, in the very face of their exalted privi-
leges and their high religious character in the estima-
tion of men. To them pertained the adoption, and
the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the
law, and the service of God, and the promises, and
the fathers, and national connection with the Messiah ;
but still they needed to be saved. Many of them
could say, as did Paul describing his own state pre-
vious to his new birth by faith in Jesus, " Circumcised
the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of
Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews ; as touching the
law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the

' Roiu. ix. 1-5.

man's need of salvation 13

church ; touching the righteousness which is in the
law, blameless ; " ^ but still they needed to be saved.
Many of them, like the Pharisee of whom our Saviour
speaks, could stand in the temple and pray by them-
selves, and say, " God, I thank thee, that I am not as
other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even
as this pubKcan. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes
of all that I possess ; " ^ but still they needed to be
saved. Many of them made broad their phylacteries,
and enlarged the borders of their garments, and of-
fered long prayers, and scrupulously observed the
Sabbath, and compassed sea and land to gain one pros-
elyte, and added to the burdensome requirements of
the ceremonial law by self-imposed regulations, and
in the ardor of their devotion outstripped the demands
of divine ordinances by keeping pace with the numer-
ous traditions of the elders ; but still they needed to
be saved.

Eead the pathetic lamentation of our Lord when
He beheld the city of David and wept over it : not
the tears of silent sympathy, as at the grave of Laza-
rus, but with all the tokens of consummate and con-
vulsive grief, saying, ^'If thou hadst known, even
thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong
unto thy peace ! but now they are hid from thine
eyes." ^ Eead the last message which He delivered in
the presence of the people when He cried, " O Jeru-
salem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and
stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often
would I have gathered thy children together, even as

iPhil. iii. 5, 6. ^Luke xviii. 11, 12. ^Luke xix. 42.

14 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not ! Behold, your house is left unto you des-
olate. For I say unto you. Ye shall not see me
henceforth, till ye shall say. Blessed is he that cometh
in the name of the Lord." ' Surely it requires no
other evidence to prove that the Israelites as a bod}^
were unsaved at the time the apostle wrote ; but if they
needed to be saved, what must be said of the rest of
mankind ? If they were lost, notwithstanding their
favorable cu^cumstances, their peculiar advantages,
their distinguishing mercies, their strict morality,
their religious fervor, their illustrious ancestry, and
their wonderful history, — radiant w^ith the glory of
Jehovah's presence, — how is it possible that " sinners
of the Gentiles"^ have no need of a gracious and
mighty hand to pluck them as brands from the burn-
ing ? Should any one reply to all this that the Jews
were condemned for their rejection of Christ, I admit
the justice of the answer, but immediately turn and
bring the charge of the same stupendous sin against
every unbeliever who may read this book.

II. Yes, my friend, you are involved in the same
condemnation, as I shall now proceed to show, and
thus bring forward my second argument to convince
you of your need of salvation. All who profess to
accept any portion of the Scriptures as inspired agree
that the words of Jesus must be regarded as authorita-
tive and final upon every doctrine which He teaches.
Let us see, then, what He repeatedly affirms touching
the necessity of faith and the soul-destroying crime of
» Matt, xiiii. 37-3©. ' Gal. ii.l5.

man's need of salvation 15

unbelief. In His memorable interview with Nico-
demus, after setting forth the amazing love of God in
the gift of this dear Son, He adds, " He that believeth
on him is not condemned : but he that believeth not
is condemned already, because he hath not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God." '

Again we hear His solemn testimony, " Yerily,
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation [or judgment] ;
but is passed from death unto life."^ "Then said
they unto him. What shall we do, that we might
work the works of God ? Jesus answered and said
unto them. This is the work of God, that ye believe on
him whom he hath sent." ^ " Yerily, verily, I say unto
you. He that believeth on me hath everlasting life." ^
" If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your
sins." ^ " Yerily, verily, I say unto you, I am the
door of the sheep. . . . But ye believe not, be-
cause ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you." ^
"Therefore they could not believe, because that
Esaias said again. He hath blinded their eyes, and
hardened their heart ; that they should not see with
their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be
converted, and I should heal them."^ When the
Spirit is come He will convince the world " of sin, be-
cause they believe not on me."^

These passages are taken almost at random from a

> John iii. 18. ' John v. 24. » John vi. 28, 29.

* John vi. 47. ® John viii. 24. » John x. 7, 26.

' John xii. 39, 40. » John xvi. 9.

16 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

single Gospel, and it is unnecessary to say that there
is nothing in all the word of God to contradict them.
Elsewhere it is written that the Saviour, whose infinite
love for the sinner led Him to the cross, declared
among the last words He uttered on earth, " He that
believeth not shall be damned ; " ' and the Holy Spirit
says, by the apostle John, "He that believeth not
God hath made him a liar ; because he believeth not
the record that God gave of his Son." ^ Such, then,
is the vital importance of belief in Christ, that salva-
tion in all its unutterable meaning, in all its boundless
extent, in all its everlasting joys, depends upon its
exercise ; and such is the horrible sin of unbelief that
if persisted in to the close of life, it will certainly
drown the soul in perdition.

How imperative, then, is the duty of the unbeliever
to flee for refuge to the cross of Christ ! That such a
refuge should have been provided in the immeasurable
grace and unsearchable wisdom of God affords over-
whelming demonstration of the fact that the entire
human race was in extremest need: "For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life." ^ The preciousness of the
gift proves the vastness of the want it was designed
to meet, and the costliness of the sacrifice reveals the
depth of the woe it was intended to reach. Oh, if
man did not need salvation, Jesus had not died ; for
it is inconceivable that the Father could have sent
Him forth from His bosom, and emptied Him of His

^ Mark xvi. 16. ' 1 Johu v. 10. 'John iii. 16.

divine and eternal glory, and humbled Him to be
made of a woman, made under the law, and laid upon
Him the crushing burden of our iniquities, and looked
upon His prostrate form in Gethsemane, and witnessed
the blows that bruised His face, and heard His dis-
consolate cry on Calvary, unless a stern necessity had
demanded this profound condescension and mysterious
suffering.

The Russian mother, who threw one and another,
and then another, of her children to the howling
wolves pursuing her sleigh, showed the desperate
straits to which she was driven to save her life ; and
the Russian serf, who stayed the hungry pack with
his own body that his master might escape their de-
vouring jaws, proved how fearful was the emergency
that required such an act of dauntless courage and
moral heroism. " Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends ; " ^ and
when Christ laid down His life, not for His friends,
but for His enemies. He gave the most convincing
proof of which the human mind can conceive both of
the greatness of His love and the greatness of their
need.

Unbelief, therefore, is a rejection of love in its
highest possible manifestation, and hence it is repre-
sented as the root of all other sin and the crowning
iniquity. It not only sets at defiance the insulted
justice of God, but, far more, it treats with disdain or
receives with unmoved indifference His overtures of
mercy. It derides His authority, it despises His law,
» John XV. 13.

18 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

it ridicules His warnings, it rejects His invitations, it
slights His compassion, it calls Him a liar when He
says, " He that believeth not shall be damned," and
it joins the ribald crowd in reviling His dying Son,
or at least it turns with heartless unconcern from that
wail of forsaken woe that shook the mighty pillars of
the globe.

*^ I asked the heavens, What foe to God hath done
This unexampled deed ? The heavens exclaim :

* ^ Tivas man ! and we, in horror, snatched the sun
From such a spectacle of guilt and shame ! ^

** I asked the Sea : the Sea in fury boiled,

And answered with his voice of storms, ' ' Ttcas man !
My waves in panic at his crime recoiled,
Disclosed the abyss, and from the centre ran ! '

^*I asked the Earth : the Earth replied aghast,

* ' Twas man ! and such strange pangs my bosom
rent.
That still I groan and shudder at the past ! ^

To man, gay, smiling, thoughtless mail, I went,
And asked him next : he turned a scornful eye.
Shook his proud head, and deigned me no reply."

Think you that a sin like this, which remains un-
subdued and unaffected even at the cross, can be a
slight offence, or that man does not need salvation
while it holds dominion over him ? H every other
sin were forgiven, or if no other sin had been com-
mitted, this alone would drive the unbeliever away
forever from the presence of God, and rear an insur-
mountable barrier between his soul and true happi-
ness.

CHAPTEK II
MAN'S NEED OF SALVATION
III

UNBELIEF and all other iniquities spring from a
nature essentially corrupt, according to the
abundant testimony of God, and consequently the
force of the argument to establish man's need of sal-
vation becomes irresistible if this can be shown. Let
us look, then, at some of the testimony as it lies scat-
tered throughout the Bible. In the beginning of the
inspired word, and at a period in the history of our
race which poets delight to celebrate as marked by
winning simplicity and crowned with childlike inno-
cence, we are told, " God saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and that every imagina-
tion of the thoughts of his heart was only evil con-
tinually."* The words every and only and evil and
continually are exceedingly significant in this connec-
tion, for they show that the whole fabrication or
formation which distinguished him from the brute
creation, including all the imaginations, desires, and
purposes of the soul, were sinful, and sinful unceas-
ingly.

Again, we read : " God looked upon the earth, and,
behold, it was corrupt ; for all flesh had corrupted his
way upon the earth." ^ Again, hundreds of years

* Gen. vi. 5. ' Gen. vi. 12.

20 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

later, it is said: *'The Lord looked down from
heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were
any that did understand, and seek God. They are all
gone aside, they are all together become filthy : there
is none that doeth good, no, not one." ' Again,
Jehovah says, by the prophet Isaiah : " The whole
head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the
sole of the foot even unto the head there is no sound-
ness in it ; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying
sores : they have not been closed, neither bound up,
neither mollified with ointment."^ Again, He de-
clares, by the prophet Jeremiah, that " the heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately wucked :
who can know it ? " ^

Passing by other testimony in the old covenant
Scriptures which could be gathered from every book,
and in some form from nearly every chapter, we hear
our Lord saying, " That which is born of the flesh is
flesh," ^ and, " From ^^ithin, out of the heart of men,
proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, mur-
ders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lascivi-
ousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
all these evil things come from within, and defile the
man." *

Glancing forward a little farther, we find the in-
spired apostle writing, " We have before proved both
Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin ; as it
is written, there is none righteous, no, not one :
There is none that understandeth, there is none that

* Ps. xiv. 2, 3. ' Isa. i. 5, 6. ' Jer. xvii. 9.

* John iii. 6. ' Mark vii. 21-23.

man's need of salvation 21

seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way,
they are together become unprofitable ; there is none
that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open
sepulchre ; with their tongues they have used deceit ;
the poison of asps is under their lips : whose mouth is
full of cursing and bitterness : their feet are swift to
shed blood : destruction and misery are in their ways :
and the way of peace have they not known : there is
no fear of God before their eyes." *

The same apostle also says, " I know that in me
(that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing ; " ^
" The carnal mind is enmity against God : for it is
not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can
be ; " ^ and, " You hath he quickened, who were dead
[not sick nor dying, but dead] in trespasses and sins ;
wherein in time past ye walked according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience : among whom also we all
had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our
flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the
mind ; and were by nature the children of wrath, even
as others." ^

Without quoting other declarations of the same
import, enough has been said to show that, according
to the infallible testimony of God, man is utterly
ruined. Whenever, wherever, and however tried, he
has proved a miserable fail are. He was tried in
Eden, and failed ; for having believed the devil's lie,

1 Rom. iii. 9-18. ^ Eom. vii. 18.

' Rom. viii. 7. * Eph. ii. 1-3.

22 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

and plucked the forbidden fruit, conscious guilt took
the place of original innocence, " and Adam and his
wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord
God amongst the trees of the garden." ' He was
tried before the giving of the law, and failed, for
" until the law sin was in the world ; " ^ and the Holy
Ghost deduces from the universal prevalence of death
the universal supremacy of sin ; leading us to hear in
every dying groan the thrilling announcement and to
see in every new-made grave the visible demonstra-
tion of Jehovah's righteous abhorrence of iniquity.
He was tried under the law, and failed ; for it is
written, " We know that what things soever the law
saith, it saith to them who are under the law : that
every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds
of law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight :
for by the law is the knowledge of sin." ^ He was tried
under grace, and failed ; f or " this is the condemnation,
that light is come into the world, and men loved dark-
ness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." *
We cannot be surprised at this repeated failure
under the most favorable circumstances, when we
learn that after Adam fell from the high estate in
Avhich he was created, in the image and likeness of
God, he " begat a son in his own likeness, after his
image." ^ "In Adam all die." ^ "Through the
offence of one many be dead." ^ " By one man's dis-

1 Gen. iii. 8. ^ i^o,^^ ^^ 13^ s j^q^j m 19^ 20.

< John iii. 19. » Qen. v. 3. ^ 1 Cor. xv. 22.

' Rom. V. 15.

man's need of salvation 23

obedience many were made [or constituted] sinners." ^
" Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean ?
not one." ^ " Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; and
in sin did my mother conceive me." ^ We discover,
therefore, that there is an evil lying back of mere out-
ward transgressions ; for God, who knows all about
us, declares that we are hy nature children of wrath,
or exposed to punishment, and hence by nature we
are corrupt. We have no difficulty in understanding
what is meant when it is said that a tiger is by nature
bloodthirsty ; and he who is willing to accept God's
testimony, although it profoundly abases self, can
have no difficulty in understanding what the Bible
means when it says that by nature we are sinful.

lY. Out of this corrupt nature necessarily spring
those evil deeds which are plainly contrary to the
law of God, and therefore promptly recognized by an
enlightened conscience as sinful. " Do men gather
grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? Even so every
good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt
tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit." ^ Do what you will with a tree in
cultivating, pruning, or transplanting it, you can never
so change its nature that thorns will bring forth grapes
and thistles will produce figs. So, do what you will
with man by all the appliances of the highest culture
and the most refined civilization, you cannot so
change his nature that it will become holy. God can

' Rom. V. 19. ^ Job xiv. 4,

8 Ps. li. 5. * Matt. vii. 16-18.

24 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

— and, blessed be His name ! He does — impart a new
nature by the power of the Holy Ghost, through faith
in Jesus Christ, as revealed in His word; but the
nature which we derive by birth from our parents is
evil, and only evil, continually.

That the outward manifestations of such a nature
should be in open conflict Avith the law of God is just
what might be expected. " Sin," we are told, " is
the transgression of the law " ; ^ or, to render strictly,
" sin is lawlessness " : it is that spirit of insubordina-
tion, that inward resistance to Divine authority, which
distinguishes the soul, and which finds expression in
unceasing and flagrant disobedience. The law says,
*' Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with
all thy strength : this is the first commandment.
And the second is like, namely this. Thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself."^ Our theological writers
are much in the habit of speaking of the law as the
transcript or reflection of the Divine nature ; but
surely the Divine nature is more than law, " for God
is love " ; ^ and hence it would be better to say that the
law is the transcript or reflection of the Divine will
concerning the duty of man to his Creator and his fel-
low creatures.

Of this law it may be afiirmed, first, that it " is
holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
good " ; ^ second, that it is immutable, for it " cometh
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no

» 1 John iii. 4. » Mark xii. 30, 31.

8 1 John iv. 8. * Rom. vii. 12.

variableness, neither shadow of turning," ' and " till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no
wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled";^ and
third, that it has a penalty, for " Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things which are written in
the book of the law to do them " ;3 " the wages of sin
is death " ; "^ and " the soul that sinneth, it shall die." ^
Now, when you add to this the solemn and distinct
testimony of the Bible, over and over again repeated
that '' all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God," ^ it is impossible to resist the conclusion that
every man by nature is in immediate and inexpress-
ible need of salvation.

Y. After what has been said it is hardly necessary
to dwell upon the words of our Lord when He ex-
claimed, " Yerily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a
man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God."^ When He made this statement He was
speaking with Nicodemus, who was a master of Israel,
a ruler of the Jews, and blameless, as we would say,
in all his character and conduct. Even he was in-
formed that, Except a man (or, as it is in the original,
Except any one. Except every one) be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. The best, therefore,
can do with nothing less than this, whatever may be
their standing in their own estimation or in the
estimation of others. " Marvel not that I said unto
thee. Ye must be born again." ^ I do not deny for a

^ James i. 17. 2 ^i^^^^ y. 18. ^ Gal. iii. 10.

^ Rom. vi. 23. ^ Ezek. xviii. 4. ^ Rom. iii. 23.

' John iii. 3. ^ John iii. 7.

26 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

moment the possession of amiable traits of character
and virtuous principles of conduct by thousands who
know nothing of Christ as their Saviour ; but still I
dare not go back of His own explicit declaration,
" Yerily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God." *

All the attractiveness of the most lovely disposition,
and all the firmness of the most incorruptible integrity,
may exist without the slightest reference to the will
and glory of God, and therefore they may exist w^ith-
out the least spiritual life. We often witness in the
brute creation touching exhibitions of devoted affec-
tion, of unswerving fidelit}", of unflinching courage,
and of w^hat w^ould be termed in man the loftiest
nobility of action ; but among the inferior animals
there is a total w^ant of spiritual life, because there is
a total want of capacity to know God and to perform
these heroic deeds from the high and commanding
motive of regard to the pleasure of God. Now, of
human beings it may truthfully be affirmed, no less
than of the lower orders of beings, that by nature
they are incapable of knowing and loving the true
God and that they are utterly devoid of spiritual life
until born again and made a new^ creation in Christ
Jesus. Out of scores of texts that could be easily
quoted to sustain this important proposition, two or
three must answer for the present : " He that hath
the Son hath life ; and he that hath not the Son of
God hath not life." ^ " Whatsoever is not of faith is

' Johu iii. 5. »1 Jobu v. 12.

man's need of salvation 27

sin." ' " Without faith it is impossible to please him." ^
Whatever else a man has, whatever excellences that
excite our admiration and win our regard, he has not
life until he has the Son by faith in His name ; and
hence we again see man's deep need of salvation.

YI. The last argument I advance to prove this fact,
which it is absolutely essential that my readers should
receive with an intelligent and fixed conviction of its
truth, is derived from the oft-repeated declarations of
God threatening the most terrible punishment against
those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ in His Divine
person and atoning work. " He that believeth on the
Son hath everlasting life : and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life ; but the wrath of God
abideth on him." ^ " Go ye into all the world, and
preach the Gospel to every creature. He that be-
lieveth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that
believeth not shall be damned." ^ " And these shall
go away into everlasting punishment : but the right-
eous into life eternal."^ ^'But the fearful, and
unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all
liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth
with fire and brimstone : which is the second death." ^

Every careful reader of the Holy Scriptures knows
that such passages are constantly found in the sacred
pages ; and if any are disposed to call them in question,
they should remember that their controversy is not
with the author of this book, but with the Author of

^Rora. xiv. 23. ^Heh. xi. 6. «John iii. 36.

* Mark xvi. 15, 16. ^ Matt. xxv. 46. « Kev. xxi. 8.

28 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

the Bible, God Himself, " the Father of mercies," *
who " doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children
of men," ^ has distinctly warned us that if we die in
unbelief eternal and intolerable sufferings await us
in the future world. Dear, dying reader, heed the
warning, I beseech you, and " flee from the wrath to
come." ^ I have shown you, upon the testimony of
One who cannot lie, that all men, without a single
exception, as they are born into the world, need sal-
vation, and I pray God that you will not slight this
testimony. Your unbelief will not affect its truth for
an instant, but as the Lord liveth, your unbelief, if
persisted in, will seal your " everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of
his power ; when he shall come to be glorified in his
saints, and to be admired in all them that believe
(because our testimony among you was believed) in
that day." *

*2Cor. i. 3. ^Lam. iii. 33.

3 Matt. iii. 7. * 2 Thess. i. 9, 10.

CHAPTEE III
MAN'S SINCERITY CANNOT SAVE HIM

"For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not ac-
cording to knowledge." — Romans x. 2.

IT is a common opinion that it matters little what a
man's religious views may be, provided he is sin-
cere in his belief. This opinion is sometimes advanced
with all the assurance of conscious truth, sometimes
with all the arrogance of conscious error, and at all
times with a confidence in its soundness that surprises
the thoughtful mind. It is not only received as an
axiom by the world, lulling the dead soul into a pro-
founder slumber, but it is held to a lamentable extent
by the Church, crippling her energies and nullifying
her testimony for Jesus.

"We often hear Christians apply the term " good "
to those who embrace and propagate fatal heresies,
simply because they appear to be honest in their con-
victions and labor for the advancement of various
humanitarian and philanthropic schemes. Nay, in
some of the most popular pulpits of the day preachers
are found sneering at " creeds," and journals profess-
edly conducted in the interest of Christ's suffering
cause pour contempt through their columns upon what
they are pleased to call " a dry orthodoxy." It seems
to be taken for granted that the time has come to do

30 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

awa}'' with " doctrinal differences," as belonging to a
former and darker age, and to substitute a polite edu-
cation, a benevolent disposition, and refined manners,
in place of regeneration by the Holy Ghost, faith in
the Son of God, and holiness of life.

Public speakers and writers of distinction boldly
avow that man is no more responsible for his belief
than he is for the color of his eyes or the height of
his stature ; and they assume that it is the narrowest
bigotry to make him an offender not only for his
words, but for his very thoughts. It must be con-
fessed that their position, viewed from an earthly
instead of a heavenly standpoint, is guarded by
strong defences, and it is useless to attack it except
with " the SAvord of the Spirit, which is the word of
God." ' I do not assert that it is impregnable to the
assaults of human reason, for, no doubt, arguments
can be constructed which would sweep it from its
very foundations ; but, after all, it is only the testi-
mony of the Sacred Scriptures, accompanied with
Divine energy, that can convince the intellect, con-
quer the heart, and control the conduct. Some of
these arguments may be briefly noticed in their proper
place ; but I frankly say I do not expect my readers
to receive any real good from the discussion of this
important subject unless they bow with implicit sub-
mission to the authority of the Bible.

The question, then, is simply this, Does God hold
man responsible for his belief as well as for his con-
duct, or will mere sincerity, although we may sincerely

1 Eph. vi. 17.

man's sincerity cannot save him 31

believe an error, entitle us to His favor ? The former
I affirm, the latter I deny ; and I appeal at once to
the inspired Book which contains the authentic de-
cision of " the Lord of all the earth."

I. We gather from the words of the apostle which
introduce the present chapter that the Jews were not
only sincere in their religious convictions, but zealous,
and zealous for God ; and yet they were lost, for he
writes : " Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to
God for Israel is, that they might be saved." They
had zeal, but it was not according to knowledge ; and
therefore it could not commend them to the regard
of Him who, though abundant in love and mercy, yet
desireth " truth in the inward parts." ' The Holy
Ghost informs us that they were ignorant of God's
righteousness, and that they were held accountable
for this ignorance ; for all their efforts to establish
their own righteousness ^vere unavailing, and they
were finally rejected, and sent as wanderers through
the earth under the visible marks of Jehovah's dis-
pleasure, " I bear them record," says the apostle,
" that they have a zeal of God, but not according to
knowledge ; " and hence their sincerity did not save
them.

The Saviour tells us that in the ardor of their zeal
they compassed " sea and land to make one proselyte ;
and when he is made," He adds, " ye make him two-
fold more the child of hell than yourselves." "^ Here
we see that the most intense sincerity in maintaining
their religious opinions, and the most fervent devotion

iPs. li. 6. ^^l^XX,, xxiii. 15.

32 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

in seeking to spread them abroad, could not deliver
them from the fearful charge of being the children
of hell, and of involving all whom they persuaded to
receive their views in a common ruin. Again, our
Lord wept over Jerusalem, exclaiming, "If thou
hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day,
the things which belong unto thy peace ! but now
they are hid from thine eyes." ' According to this
solemn testimony, their crushing doom came upon
them just because they knew not the things which
belonged to their peace, and their overthrow as a
nation was the result of their ignorance. Again, He
said to them, " Now ye seek to kill me, a man that
hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God.
. . . Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts
of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because
there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he
speaketh of his own : for he is a liar, and the father
of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me
not." ^ They were called the children of the devil,
not because they were insincere, irreligious, or indif-
ferent to the claims of God upon their worship, but
because they believed not the truth when it was made
known by Him who is Truth itself.

So the apostle Peter, after boldly telling the people
that they had " killed the Prince of life," ^ says :
" And, now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance
ye did it, as did also your rulers." ^ But did their

' Lnke xix. 42. ^ John viii. 40, 44, 45.

» Acts iii. 15. * Acts iii. 17.

man's sincerity cannot save him 33

ignorance of Christ's true character as the anointed
One, or their sincere belief that He was an impious
blasphemer, atone for their stupendous crime in put-
ting Him to death ? Not at all ; for the same apostle
earnestly exhorts them to repent of that crime, de-
claring that with wicked hands they had crucified
and slain Him. The apostle Paul, also referring to
the hidden wisdom which God ordained before
the world unto our glory, writes, "Which none
of the princes of this world knew ; for had they
known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory," ' but their want of knowledge did not release
them from responsibility, however sincere their con-
victions ; because God has again and again announced
that He will bring them into judgment for the murder
of His Son.

By the mouth of the prophet Hosea, He said, " My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge : because
thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject
thee " ; ^ and the same principle holds good under the
dispensation of grace. He " will have all men to be
saved," we are told, " and to come unto the knowl-
edge of the truth " ; ^ and again : " For this cause
God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie : that they all might be damned who be-
lieved not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteous-
ness." ^ " For some," says the apostle, " have not the
knowledge of God ; I speak this to your shame." ^
" Why," asked the disciples of our Lord, " speakest

1 1 Cor. ii. 8. 2 jj^g^ j^^ q^ 3 j tj^^ .•_ 4^

* 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12. s i cor. xv. 34.

34: THE WAY MADE PLAIN

thou nnto them in parables ? He answered and said
unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is
not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be
given, and he shall have more abundance : but who-
soever hath not, from him shall be taken away even
that which he hath. Therefore speak I to them in
parables : because they seeing see not ; and hearing
they hear not, neither do they understand." *

But Avithout quoting additional statements of the
same import from the inspired word, enough has been
said to prove that according to the unerring testimony
of God it is not a thing of small moment whether a
man does or does not believe the truth. If in His
infinite grace and condescension He has given us a
revelation, He justly requires us to accept it as true ;
and our disbelief of it He justly regards and treats as
a sin demanding the severest punishment. Christ is
the centre and circumference of that revelation ; for
in its symbols and songs, in its prophecies and para-
bles, in its doctrines and duties, it all revolves around
His Divine person and atoning work on the cross, and
hence our reception or rejection of the Saviour is made
the turning-point in the destiny of the soul. " He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he
that believeth not shall be damned." ^ " He that be-
lieveth on him is not condemned : but he that be-
lieveth not is condemned ah^eady, because he hath not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God."^ And to the same effect. He declares, "He

*Matt. xiii. 11-13. ^Mark xvi. 16. 'John iii. 18.

that believetti on the Son hath everlasting life : and
he that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but
the wrath of God abideth on him." *

It is a remarkable fact, deserving the serious atten-
tion of my reader, that while so many are saying, It
is of no consequence what a man believes, provided
he is sincere, the " Lord God of truth " ^ is solemnly
saying, " He that believeth not the Son shall not see
life." The opinion which I am here opposing con-
fidently asserts that it is not necessary to believe the
very doctrine which our Maker declares to be essential
to the deliverance of the soul from endless death !
One says, He that believeth not shall be saved, if he
is sincere in his unbelief ; the other says, He that be-
lieveth not shall be damned. Judge ye which of
these two witnesses is entitled to our confidence.
" Let God be true, but every man a liar." ^ " Who is
a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ ? " ^
" He that believeth not God hath made him a liar." ^
It comes, then, to this : either the common notion
that man is not responsible for his belief is false, or
the eternal Creator of heaven and earth has not
spoken the truth in the Bible ; for the former is a
flat contradiction of the latter. The word of the
Lord, the work of Christ and the way of redemption
from first to last, all hold forth the necessity not only
of a sincere belief, but of a belief according to knowl-
edge : and there is no meaning nor reality in any-
thing that is written in the Sacred Scriptures if a

» John iii. 36. Ts. xxxi. 5. ^ j^om. iii. 4.

* 1 John ii. 22. ^ 1 John v. 10,

36 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

sinner can be saved by believing an error, although
he may believe it with all his heart. Of the saved
our Lord says in His prayer to the Father, " This is
life eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." ^ Of
the lost it is said, they have " the understanding
darkened, being alienated from the life of God
through the ignorance that is in them, because of the
blindness of their heart " ; ^ and " the Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know
not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ." ^

Even the heathen who walk or stumble in the dim
starlight of nature are accountable for their belief ;
and hence it is written, " The wrath of God is
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, w^ho hold the truth in un-
righteousness ; because that which may be known of
God is manifest in them ; for God hath showed it
unto them. For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the w^orld are clearly seen, being under-
stood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead ; so that they are without ex-
cuse." ^ Again : '' As many as have sinned without
law shall also perish without law : and as many as
have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law ;
(for not the hearers of the law are just before God,
but the doers of the law shall be justified : for when

^Tolin xvii. 3. «Eph. iv. 18.

8 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. *Kom. i. 18-20,

MAN'S SIIS^CERITY CANNOT SAVE IIIM 37

the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature
the things contained in the law, these, having not the
law, are a law unto themselves: which shew the
work of the law written in their hearts, their con-
science also bearing witness, and their thoughts the
meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another;)
in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by
Jesus Christ according to my gospel." ^ If then those
who have no revelation in the written word are re-
sponsible according to the measure of their opportunity
for knowing God, surely we who live in the unclouded
glory of His grace will be called to a strict account
for the manner in which we treat the messages of His
love. If we reject them, the plea that we sincerely
believed they were not worthy of credit will not
avail to justify us at His bar ; for unbelief is the re-
sult, as He declares, of unwillingness to believe ; it is
the crowning sin of our race ; and our belief or dis-
belief cannot alter the nature of eternal truth. " This
is the condemnation, that light is come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil." We are compelled, therefore,
to surrender the vain conceit that sincerity will save
us, or to yield our pretended faith in God's revealed
word and take our proper place in the ranks of scoffers
and sceptics.

II. The denial that man is responsible for his re-
ligious belief leads legitimately and logically to the
conclusion that he is not responsible for his conduct :
because the two sustain an intimate and indissoluble

iRom. ii. 12-16.

38 THE WAY 3IADE PLAIN

relcation to each other. One is the fountain, the other
is the stream ; one is the foundation, the other is the
superstructure ; one is the root, the other is the tree
which springs from it and bears good or evil fruit.
"Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit ;
but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt
tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth
not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the
fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." *
Human actions of a moral character are always the
result of certain opinions or principles ; and they can
neither rise higher than the source from which they
spring, nor fail to partake of its nature. Good actions
cannot proceed from evil principles, nor can evil actions
proceed from good prmciples. A person's principles
are himself: and surely it is a shallow philosophy
which would not only divide him in twain, but array
the separated portions of his being in direct opposi-
tion, pronouncing one part of him virtuous and the
other vicious.

If a man sincerely believes that there is no God, he
will be an atheist practically; if he believes that
prayer is a vain and useless ceremony, he will never
bow the knee in supplication to the throne of grace ;
if he believes that it is unnecessary to confess Christ
before men, he will refuse to be enrolled among the
number of the Saviour's disciples ; if he believes that
the gratification of his a})petites is the highest end of

*Matt. vii. 16-20.

life, he will be a sensualist ; if he believes that the
acquisition of wealth in any manner is the supreme
good, he will be a thief or swindler whenever he can
feed the passion of his soul without danger of detec-
tion and punishment; and so of every other belief
that is connected with our conduct as accountable
beings in the unavoidable relations we sustain to our
Creator and our fellow creatures. We may or may
not believe the assertions of human science, the testi-
mony of uninspired history, and the narratives of
travellers in new and unknown countries, without
damage to our eternal interests, because these matters
do not necessarily carry our faith into the high region
of morals : but the moment we invade that loftier
sphere, our belief is clothed with the dread respon-
sibility of personal action, because it is sure to express
itself in outward manifestations that exhibit its char-
acter as righteous or sinful in the sight of God. If
the belief is wrong, the life must be wrong ; and, on
the other hand, if the life is wrong, the belief must be
wrong. We may say reverently, therefore, that it is
impossible for the " Judge of all the earth," ' " which
searcheth the reins and hearts," ^ to take notice of the
life without also taking notice of the belief which
gives shape to the deeds, and tone to the speech, and
direction to the behavior, of His creatures. Hence,
the more sincerely an error is believed, the more
surely it will receive a righteous retribution, because
the more certainly it leads to open disregard of His
truth or defiance of His authority.
1 Gen. xviii. 25. ^jjev. ii. 23.

CHAPTEK TV

MAN'S SINCEEITY CANNOT SAVE HIM

III

THAT man is responsible for his belief is the dis-
tinct testimony of consciousness. The process
of reasoning by which this proposition may be estab-
lished is simple, but direct and conclusive. That he
is conscious of responsibility for his actions is al-
most universally admitted, and is fully attested by
the sacrifices and superstitions, by the penances and
prayers, by the terrors and remorse, that have marked
his history in all ages and in all lands. That he is
also conscious of responsibility for the dispositions of
his heart is equally obvious, for they alone give moral
character to his conduct ; and if they are left out of
view, he is no more accountable for his deeds than are
the brutes that perish. Hence, if he flies into an un-
reasonable rage at the bidding of an unsubdued temper,
when the calm of sober reflection has succeeded the
storm of passion he condemns himself not only for what
he has done, but for what he has felt. And our opinion
with regard to moral truth being largely under the
control of our dispositions, and intimately associated,
as has been proved, with our moral actions, a conscious-
ness of responsibility for our belief inevitably follows ;
and the moment we are awakened from the deep

MAKS SIKCEEITY CANNOT SAVE HIM 41

sleep of sill and spiritual death by the quickening
voice of the Son of God, we pass judgment upon our
belief as wrong, no less than upon our conduct.

The Saviour, describing the work of the Holy
Spirit in the salvation of men, says He will convince
" of sin, because they believe not on me " ; ' and the
first experience, perhaps, of the enlightened and re-
generated soul is to see that his unbelief for so many
years is the most aggravated of all his iniquities. It
is certain, then, that with the millions of Christians
who have lived there has been a clear consciousness
of responsibility for belief; and if it is not so with
others, it only proves that they have fallen under the
spell of a dreadful sorcery which has locked them fast
in spiritual insensibility. There are multitudes who
have no consciousness of sin for their conduct ; but
this fact, instead of showing that they are not sinners,
only reveals the depth of ruin into which they are
plunged. If they are ever raised out of that ruin by
the exceeding greatness of God's power, they will not
only perceive that they are sinful in their outward ac-
tions, but will pass an immediate sentence of condem-
nation against themselves for the long-cherished sin of
unbelief.

Thus the apostle Paul, referring to the character of
his belief before he was a Christian, says : " I verily
thought with myself that I ought to do many
things contrary to the name of Jesus of Kazareth.
Which things I also did in Jerusalem : and many
of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received

^ John xvi. 9.

42 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

authority from the chief priests ; and when they
were put to death, I gave my voice against them." '
Again, he writes to the Galatians : " Ye have heard
of my conversation in time past in the Jews' re-
ligion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the
church of God, and wasted it ; and profited in the
Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own
nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the tradi-
tions of my fathers."^ But the sincerity of his at-
tachment to the religious system under which he was
educated, and the ardor of his zeal in upholding it,
did not excuse him even at the bar of his own con-
science when he received a knowledge of the truth ;
for years after he was saved he speaks of himself as
the chief of sinners, and '' the least of the apostles, that
am not meet to be called an apostle, because I perse-
cuted the church of God." ^ In the light from heaven
tliat flashed around him on the road to Damascus he
saw that his conduct had been fearfully wrong ; and
as his conduct was the natural and necessary result of
his belief, he saw that his belief had been equally
wrong, and was worthy of no slighter censure than the
cruelties to which it led. So will it be with you, dear
reader, if God, who commanded the light to shine out
of darkness, shines in your heart " to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ." ^

IV. It is the judgment of mankind that we are
responsible for our belief, and they hold us account-

1 Acts xxvi. 9, 10. »Gal. i. 13, 14.

'^l Cor. XV. 9. <2Cor. iv. 6.

man's sincerity cannot save iiim 43

able for it both to civil governments and at the bar of
public opinion. A criminal is never acquitted on the
ground that he sincerely believed the law which he
had violated to be wrong, or that he sincerely believed
it had been repealed, or that he sincerely believed its
penalty would not be enforced. The law goes on the
presumption that its subjects are acquainted with its
provisions and punishments, and it requires them to
answer not only for what they know, but for what
they might know. It does not lay its arrest upon the
idiotic or the insane to treat them as culprits, but
where the moral faculty exists, associated with even
a low degree of intelligence, it demands obedience to
its authority under pain of its avenging justice.

Let us suppose that a law is enacted by the legisla-
tive department of the government, declaring that on
and after a certain day the crime of theft shall be
punished with death instead of imprisonment. Let us
suppose further that this law has received the ap-
proval of the Executive and the sanction of the high-
est judicial decision pronouncing it to be constitutional
in all its features ; and, still further, that it has been
fully promulgated through the press and placarded on
the streets and highways. If a thief should be ar-
rested, tried, and found guilty under this laAV, it
would avail him little to plead that he sincerely be-
lieved it had not been decreed, or that he sincerely
believed its penalty was unreasonably severe, or that
he sincerely believed it would remain a dead letter on
the statute-book. It is probable that all the thieves
in the community would sympathize with his feelings,

44 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

and claim that there was some force in his defence ;
but surely every honest man would say that he was
responsible for his belief and should be held to a strict
account for his felony. If it can be shown that he
might have informed himself of the existence of the
law and the consequences of its violation, no good
citizen would urge that his ignorance or his mistake
should form the ground of extenuating, much less of
justifying, his offence.

There are some things which a man may believe or
disbelieve without receiving either commendation or
censure, because the will and the dispositions of the
heart are not called into exercise in accepting them as
true or in rejecting them as false. We do not say
that he deserves praise for believing that two and two
make four ; or for refusing to believe that two and two
make five ; or for crediting the evidence of his senses ;
or for relying upon the testimony of his own con-
sciousness. In such cases the action of his mind is in-
voluntary, so to speak, and does not depend upon his
inclination or power of choice. He is obliged to be-
lieve as he does ; or if, owing to some rare eccentricity,
he believes otherwise, his condition is justly regarded
as demanding pity rather than blame. But there are
other subjects which cannot be reached by mathe-
matical reasoning, nor perceived by the senses, nor
known by intuition, and when these subjects embrace
moral truth, they at once determine man's responsibil-
ity for his belief, because his belief here depends upon
his will and the state of his heart.

I do not assert that he is responsible for believing

without sufRcient evidence ; but as evidence cannot bo
weighed without attention, and as the attention is sub-
ject to his control, he is responsible for directing his
thoughts dispassionately, earnestly, and without prej-
udice, to questions that claim his regard, and that
may at least affect his eternal destiny for weal or for
woe. There are duties, for example, which arise from
the various relations we sustain to our fellow crea-
tures ; and those who are too indifferent to inquire into
the nature of these duties, or too depraved to care for
them, or too selfish to perform them, we hold respon-
sible for being in a condition that prevents the dis-
charge of their social obligations. ISTor is it enough
to say that they are responsible merely for their con-
duct ; because a moment's reflection will convince you
that our judgment of them goes back to the state of
mind or dispositions out of which their conduct
naturally flows. If we know of a man who sincerely
believes that he has a right to take his neighbor's
property, although he may not actually steal ; or of
one who sincerely believes he has a right to take his
neighbor's life on some slight provocation, although
he may not actually kill ; or of one who sincerely be-
lieves he has a right to use his neighbor's name, al-
though he may not actually commit forgery, — we do
not hesitate to say that his very belief is wrong ; and
we could not employ this term unless we held him
responsible for his principles as well as his actions.
Or if you deny this, then I immediately fasten you
upon the other horn of the dilemma by showing that
you cannot, with the least degree of consistency, hold

46 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

such a man responsible for his actions, which neces-
sarily spring out of his principles ; and thus this
wretched theory which I am opposing, if left to work
out its legitimate results, would undermine the foun-
dations of human gov^ernment and destroy the entire
structure of human society.

But it is a noteworthy fact that the warmest
advocates of this delusive and dangerous opinion do
not pretend to apply it except in man's relations to
God. None are more unsparing than they in their
denunciations of what they conceive to be his errone-
ous political belief, or his wrong views of the standard
of integrity that should be observed in business trans-
actions, or even his religious convictions when they
differ from their own. If man is not responsible for
his belief, there is nothing whatever to justify them
in so persistently assailing those of us who hold that
he is responsible ; since, according to their own notion,
it is of no consequence what we believe, provided we
are sincere ; and if he is responsible, what becomes of
their shallow conceit that he is not responsible ? This
alone is sufficient to condemn them ; for why are they
so prompt to recognize man's responsibility for his be-
lief of the truth, save when they come to the in-
finitely important truth contained in the Sacred Scrip-
tures ? Does not their position confirm the testimony
of the Bible when it declares that " the carnal mind is
enmity against God : for it is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be " ? ' Does it not prove
that they have taken counsel together ^' against the

' Kom. viii. 7.

man's siis^ceeity cannot save him 47

Lord and against his anointed, saying, Let us break
their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from
us " ? ^ Alas ! their astounding inconsistency in hold-
ing man responsible for his opinions to themselves,
while stoutly denying his responsibility for unbelief
towards Christ, only reveals a guilty conscience full of
fears, or a wicked purpose to throw the reins upon the
neck of the transgressor and encourage him in a career
of unrestrained sin.

Y. An argument from analogy is suggested by the
admitted fact that man is made responsible for his
belief by the physical laws of his being. He sees, for
example, a white powder which he sincerely believes
to be harmless ; but if it is arsenic, and he is rash
enough to act upon his belief by swallowing it, his
sincerity will not prevent excruciating pain, and prob-
ably death. An intelligent and conscientious physi-
cian may inform him that his continued dissipation
will result in disease and drag him down prematurely
to the grave ; and although he may sincerely believe
that his medical adviser is mistaken, his sincerity can-
not avert the consequences of his folly and crime.
He may be correctly told that a remedy has been dis-
covered for some fearful plague which has laid its
grasp upon him ; but sincerely believing that his in-
formant is mistaken, and preferring to follow the
counsels of his own judgment, he may decline to act
upon the testimony he has received, and yet his sin-
cerity will not stay for a single moment the approach
of the fell destroyer. He may be warned by friends
1 Ps. ii. 3.

48 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

that a vessel in which he intends to make a voyage
is not seaworthy; but sincerely believing that the
warning is the expression of unreasonable prejudice
or unmanly fear, he may confidently set sail, and yet
his sincerity cannot deliver him from going down
with a shriek into the yawning depths when the
storm is let loose in its fury upon his frail craft.
Without citing other illustrations of a truth so ob-
vious that none will have the hardihood to call it in
question, it may be asked why a merciful God does
not respect the sincerity of His creatures in such cases,
and save them from the sufferings which they bring
upon themselves. If it be replied that they violate
certain fixed laws, and therefore receive the merited
penalty, I answer that they also violate a certain and
fixed law who refuse to believe the testimony of the
Son of God ; and we have already proved that the
Almighty will no more interfere to arrest the penalty
in one instance than in the other.

]S'o one can assert that the law of gravitation is
more thoroughly established in the natural world
than is the great law, as I here term it, of the spirit-
ual world, which says, " He that hath the Son hath
life ; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not
life.'" The glorious Being who ordained both in
their different spheres possesses the same adorable
and unchangeable perfections whether we view Him
as the God of nature or of revelation ; and those, who
imagine that because they are sincere they may with
impunity reject or neglect the unalterable expression
» 1 John V. 12.

of His will, however made known, will surely discover
that they have been woefully deceived. It is childish,
therefore, for the objector to cavil at the harshness
of the doctrine I am advocating until he first finds
fault with God for the facts that occur in our daily
experience and observation. If, however, he is dis-
posed to insist that in the natural world man is re-
sponsible, not for his opinions, but for his acts, it is
sufiicient to remind him of what I have already shown,
that it is impossible to hold religious opinions without
an expression of thenj in acts of obedience or disobe-
dience that at once place him among the friends or
the foes of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

If any of the Hebrews on that terrible night of the
passover in Egypt had sincerely believed that the
blood of a slain lamb sprinkled on the door-posts of
their houses could not save them from the stroke of
the destroying angel, or that the Almighty was too
merciful to inflict the threatened vengeance, their be-
lief would have certainly manifested itself in their
conduct, and they would have certainly perished with
their enemies. If any of them, when bitten of the
fiery serpents in the wilderness, had argued that there
was no remedial or restorative power in looking at a
piece of brass, and hence had sincerely believed that
there was more wisdom in expecting help from some
other source, they would have refused, of course, to
obey the Divine direction ; and of course they would
have miserably perished because of their unbelief,
however sincere they might have been.

YI. Another argument to prove man's responsi-

50 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

bility for his belief might be derived from the consti-
tution of the human mind. As I do not wish to
extend this chapter to an undue length, I shall throw
out only a hint or two, which, with the blessing of
God, may be profitable to the awakened soul. Even
the heathen philosophers of ancient times clearly per-
ceived that the mind is the organ of truth, as the eye
is the organ of vision and the ear the organ of hear-
ing. The jaundiced eye can impart a sickly yellow
appearance to the pure white snow, and the deaf ear
is dull to the most entrancing melody ; but, for all
that, no one doubts that'they were originally consti-
tuted to be the proper organs of sight and sound.
And although it is written that "the wicked are
estranged from the womb ; they go astray as soon as
they be born, speaking lies," * yet they were created
at first with reference to truth as much as to any
other end of their existence. Their minds have be-
come sadly diseased and perverted from the use for
which they were so wonderfully organized ; but this
fact proves their responsibility, because it is the intro-
duction of sin which has wrought the change.

A careful observation will convince you that the
vast majority of men are so absorbed in their worldly
pursuits and pleasures that they are profoundly indif-
ferent to religious truth ; or they are so entirely the
slaves of prejudice that they will not impartially in-
vestigate it ; or they are so anxious to escape persecu-
tion and reproach in an apostate world that they are
not prepared to suffer for it ; or they are so blinded

^ Ps. Iviii. 3.

under the delusive influence of Satan that they do not
perceive its divine beauty and inestimable value. In
other words, it is manifest that they are led by the
dispositions of our corrupt nature; and surely for
this they are responsible, if they are responsible for
anything. But they turn away from the commands
of God with contemptuous unconcern, or with proud
reliance upon their own wisdom, or with a fixed pur-
pose to admit nothing as an article of faith which
will abase them as helpless sinners at the cross of
Calvary.

Just here their guilt comes in ; for as our Lord said
of the unbelieving world, " If I had not come and
spoken unto them, they had not had sin ; but now
they have no cloak [or, as it is in the margin, no ex-
cuse] for their sins." ^ In His blessed grace. He did
not ask those to whom He presented Himself as the
promised Messiah to receive Him without exhibiting
His credentials, so to speak ; for He says, "If I do
not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if
I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works." ^
A few like Nicodemus recognized the validity of the
credentials, and said to Him, "We know that thou
art a teacher come from God : for no man can do
these miracles that thou doest, except God be with
him ; " ^ but the great mass, offended by His lowly
appearance and soul-humbling doctrines, refused to
give to His claims even a candid examination. The
result was, they could not believe because they would
not ; and they were brought to a terrible account for

» Johu XV. 22. ^ Johu x. 37, 38. ' John iii. 2.

52 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

their rejection of Christ, even when they thought
they did God service in despising His overtures of
mercy. " Ye will not come to me," was His sad com-
plaint, " that ye might have life ; " ' and this loill not,
which was the root of unbelief, as it still is, made
them responsible for their opinions, however sincere
their plea that they were unable to accept the evi-
dences of His Messiahship. If God should command
us to look at a beautiful landscape which He had
created to glorify Himself and to gratify us, and we
should deliberately put out our eyes, our blindness
would be no excuse for disobeying His requirement.
And so if we have wronged our souls and injured our
minds by sin until the wonderful organ of truth
which He bestowed on man at first can no longer per-
form its proper functions, we have ourselves to blame
for groping in darkness.

^' But what is Truth ? 'Twas Pilate's question put
To Truth itself, that deigned him no reply.
And wherefore ? Will not God impart His light
To them that ask if? Freely : 'tis His joy,
His glory, and His nature to impart.
But to the proud, uncaudid, insincere.
Or negligent inquirer, not a spark."

And now, dear reader, I leave what is here written
to your reflections ; praying that (however imperfect
the discussion of this great subject in these pages) the
Lord will lead you to see the hollowness of Satan's
crafty device when he would persuade you that man
is not responsible for his belief. Depend upon it,

^ John V. 40.

MAN S SINCERITY CANNOT SAVE IIIM i>'3

this is the devil's lie and not God's truth. Even
under the Levitical law an offering was provided for
sins of ignorance ; and in the Gospel of the grace of
God it is written, " How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation ? " ' although we may be perfectly
sincere in our neglect. The great Bacon has well
said, " Truth and goodness differ but as the print and
seal ; for truth prints goodness," and holiness is obedi-
ence to the truth. If man, therefore, is responsible
for anything, he is surely responsible for his opinions,
since they necessarily determine whether his outward
life is in accordance with truth and holiness or with
error and unrighteousness. " God shall bring every
work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether
it be good, or whether it be evil."^ "Be not de-
ceived ; God is not mocked : for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap."^ "O Lord, thou
hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my
down-sitting and mine uprising, thou understandest
my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and
my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord,
thou knowest it altogether." ^

^Heb. ii. 3. ^^pgigg xii. 14.

' Gal. vi. 7. * Fs. cxxxix. 1-4.

CHAPTER y
MAN'S RIGHTEOUSNESS CANNOT SAVE HIM

"For tliey being iguoraut of God's righteousness, and going about
to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves
unto the righteousness of God." — Eomans x. 3.

THE first question to be settled here is the mean-
ing of the term righteousness. Some idea of
the importance of the question may be gathered from
the fact that the same word, which is used three
times in the passage placed at the head of this chap-
ter, occurs ninety-two times in the New Testament,
and is found thirty-six times in the Epistle to the
Romans. Many inquirers after the way of eternal
life are kept in darkness and uncertainty from a fail-
ure to see the signification of the language employed
by the Holy Ghost in the Sacred Scriptures. They
might often be spared weary months of struggling,
and feebleness in all their subsequent walk, if dis-
tinctly taught at the very beginning of their religious
experience the precise import of such expressions as
redemption, regeneration, repentance, faith, grace,
justification, adoption, sanctification, and righteous-
ness.

The last of these it is my purpose to notice at
present, with the hope, through God's blessing, of
leading my readers to see that their own good char-

man's kighteousness canitot save him 55

acter and conduct cannot save them. The word
which is so often translated " righteousness " in the
Bible is defined in Kobinson's Greek and English
Lexicon of the New Testament as follows : " The
doing or being what is just or right ; and when spoken
of character, conduct, and the like, it is the being just
as one should be." So the word translated righteous
is explained, when applied to character or conduct, as
meaning " just as it should be " ; and hence a
righteous man " is strictly one who does right." In
the lexicons of Classic Greek the word which is
translated righteoits is rendered " observant of the
rules of right, upright, in all duties both to gods and
men." In the Hebrew the word translated righteous-
ness comes from a verb which means "to be right,
straight " ; and hence in a moral sense it is " rectitude,
right, righteousness, what is right and just, such as it
should be " ; and a righteous person is said to be one
who is '' obedient to divine laws." In English, Web-
ster says righteousness means " purity of heart and
rectitude of life ; conformity of heart and life to the
divine law." The term righteous he defines as "just,
accordant to divine law. Applied to persons, it
denotes one who is holy in heart, and observant of
the divine commands in practice ; as a righteous man.
Applied to things, it denotes consonance to the divine
will or to justice; as a righteous act." The word
right, he says, means " conformity to the wiU of God,
or to His law, the perfect standard of truth and justice.
In a literal sense, 7'ight is a straight line of conduct,
dJidi wrong a crooked one."

56 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

According to these various authorities, righteous-
ness is the state or quality of being righteous, and
righteous is that which is right, and right implies
some rule, standard, or test to distinguish it from
wrong. If there were no such rule, it is obvious that
right and wrong would lose their meaning, and the
difference between them would instantly cease to
exist. Whether this rule is supposed to be found in
the decisions of conscience or of custom, of reason or
of revelation, its authority is instinctively and uni-
versally recognized. JSTot only the best but the worst
of men pronounce certain acts to be right and other
acts to be wrong, and thus show that they have before
their minds, it may be unconsciously, some rule to
which the right acts are conformed, and which the
wrong acts have violated. A few infidel writers like
Hobbes have maintained that the only foundation of
right and wrong is the civil law ; and a few like
Eousseau have ventured to affirm that all the morality
of our actions lies in the judgment we ourselves form
of them. But even these reckless sceptics confess that
there is a rule, however low and imperfect, that must
decide whether our conduct is worthy of commenda-
tion or of censure. Although in their view that is
right which is conformed to civil law, or which meets
the approval of our own judgment, still they acknowl-
edge the existence and power of a rule to determine
what should be done and what should be left un-
done.

Now if it be true that God has made known in the
Sacred Scriptures His will concerning the way in

which He would have men feel and think and speak
and act, it is certain that this revealed will is the
supreme rule of duty. Of course, a Being who " is
righteous in all his ways and holy in all his works " '
cannot enjoin us to be or to do anything in the slight-
est degree improper or unbecoming in the relations we
sustain to Him and to our fellow creatures ; and as
" the law of the Lord is perfect," ^ it will at once be
admitted that no higher rule is possible as the stand-
ard of right. Webster is correct, therefore, in defin-
ing righteousness as " conformity of heart and life to
the divine law." The law of God is like a plumb-line
(if I may so speak), let down from heaven to test the
uprightness of our character and the rectitude of our
conduct ; it is like an exact measure applied both to
our inward and outward life to discover whether it is
according to holiness ; it is like light shining into the
chambers of our souls to reveal their real condition.
If any are perfectly obedient in every respect to the
requirements of the law, they are righteous, and the
obedience they render constitutes their righteousness.
The phrase "righteousness of God," which fre-
quently occurs in the inspired Epistles, next demands
our consideration. We find the apostle writing to the
Eomans, " I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,
. . . for therein is the righteousness of God re-
vealed from faith to faith." ^ Again, " The righteous-
ness of God without the law is manifested, being wit-
nessed by the law and the prophets ; even the right-
eousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto

» Ps. cxlv. 17. 2 Ps. xix. 7. 3 Rom. i. 16, 17.

58 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

all, and upon all them that believe." ' Again, " He
hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that
w^e mio^ht be made the rio^hteousness of God in him."^
Again, he expresses an earnest desire to be found in
Christ ; not having, he says, " mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith
of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." ^
Simon Peter also sends his salutation " to them that
have obtained like precious faith w^ith us through the
righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."^
The term righteousness, when applied to God, does
not so much refer to any one attribute as it denotes
the perfection of His nature and sets forth the fact
that He is most holy in Himself and most just in all
His dealings with His creatures. The righteousness of
God as used in the passages just quoted is understood
by some writers to mean nothing more than God's
method of justification ; but that they are mistaken in
their view is evident, first, because the Holy Ghost
would have said God's method of justification if this
had been the thought in His mind ; and, secondly, be-
cause no man can be justified until there is a right-
eousness that precedes as the ground upon which the
sentence of justification is pronounced. "Wordsworth
well says, " This significant phrase, the righteousness
of God, is not to be lowered, weakened, and impaired,
so as to mean only the method of justification by which
God acquits and justifies mankind." Other writers
tell us that the expression means " the righteousness

* Rom. iii. 21, 22. 2 2 Cor. v. 21.

' Phil. iii. 9. ■* 2 Peter i. 1.

man's eigiiteousness cannot save iiim 59

wliich God gives and which He approves " ; but while
this is the truth, as far as it goes, it is not the whole
truth. God might give and approve a creature-right-
eousness such as Adam had in the garden of Eden, and
such as angels possess in the paradise of heaven ; but
there is something better and nobler than this in store
for the redeemed sinner.

" The righteous Loed loveth righteousness ; " * and
His love for it is so great that when He saw our utter
destitution and extreme wretchedness, in His infinite
kindness and amazing condescension He gave us His
own. He gave Christ, His co-equal, co-eternal, and
only-begotten Son, who was and is forevermore the
true God in our nature, and who not only furnished
the most illustrious exhibition of His Father's right-
eousness the universe has ever seen, but by His perfect
obedience to all the demands of the divine law, and
by His endurance of its penalty in the room and for
the justification of His people, becomes their right-
eousness ; and this righteousness is the righteousness
of God Himself. It is that kind of righteousness
which is worthy of admittance into His presence ; and
He imputes to believers the righteousness of His Son,
which is only another name for His own righteousness.
Hence we read such astonishing language as this :
"Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the
world ? " ^ " Know ye not that we shall judge an-
gels ? " ^ "He that overcometh, and keepeth my
works unto the end, to him will I give power over the
nations : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron ; as

1 Ps. xi. 7. « 1 Cor. vi. 2. ^ 1 Cor. vi. 3.

60 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers :
even as I received of my Father." * " Him that over-
cometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my
God, and he shall go no more out : and I will write
upon him the name of my God, and the name
of the city of my God, Avhich is new Jerusalem,
which cometh down out of heaven from my God;
and I will write upon him my new name."^ "To
him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me
in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set
down with my Father in his throne."^ In other
words, the righteousness of God gives a title to those
who are saved to be associated with " the Prince of
the kings of the earth " Mn the most endeared intimacy
and in places of highest dignity, which would be im-
possible if they did not stand upon the ground of a
perfect righteousness before the Father, arrayed as it
were in the robe of His own unsullied perfections.

The righteousness of God, then, is an expression
which has a broader and deeper significance than that
given to it by those who explain it to mean simply
God's method of justification or the righteousness of
which God is the author and approver. The law
demands righteousness ; and as we cannot meet the
high demand, grace gives righteousness ; and as it is a
gift, it is bestowed in a manner worthy of God who
gives us His own righteousness. Nothing less than
this could satisfy the desires of His loving heart, and
nothing less than this could suffice to admit us into

» Rev. ii. 26, 27. » Rev. iii. 12.

»Rev. iii. 21. * Rev. i. 5.

man's righteousness cannot save him 61

His blessed presence. If the soul has upon it the faint-
est stain of sin, it must be excluded forever from His
glorious dwelling-place ; for " there shall in no wise enter
into it anything that defileth," ^ and only those who
are righteous in the sense that God Himself is right-
eous can appear for a moment in the dazzling splendor
of His holiness. Hence, amid the untold wonders of
His creation and providence the most wonderful thing
He has ever done is to impute a Divine righteousness
to the believing sinner who can say, with perfect con-
fidence : " Holy Father ! there is no difference now
between Thy righteousness and mine ; for I am made
the very righteousness of God in Christ." I need not
add that this righteousness is no less enduring and
immutable than is the self-existent and unchangeable
nature of the Almighty ; and never, never can it be
torn from those to whom it has been reckoned as the
ground of their justification until the eternal Jehovah
shall cease to exist or be hurled from His throne.
^ Eev. xxi. 27.

CHAPTEE VI
MAN'S EIGHTEOUSNESS CANNOT SAVE HIM

IGNOEANCE of God's righteousness is declared by
the Holy Ghost to be as fatal and soul-destroying
as the grossest wickedness, because it led the Jews and
it leads others to go about the vain attempt to estab-
lish their own righteousness ; and therefore they refuse
to submit themselves unto the righteousness of God.
You will observe that He does not charge the Israel-
ites with insincerity, but only with ignorance ; and yet
practically one was as ruinous to the soul as the other.
When our Lord in His sermon on the mount said to
His disciples, " Except your righteousness shall exceed
the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall
in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven," ' He
did not accuse the scribes and Pharisees of hypocrisy
as the reason for asserting that we must have a better
righteousness than theirs, if we would enter into the
kingdom of heaven. Some of them, we know, were
hypocrites, but there is not the slightest authority for
saying that all of them were practiced and wilful im-
postors. Saul of Tarsus, for example, tells us he was
perfectly sincere in his religion when he was a Pharisee,
and verily thought with himself that he ought to do

1 Matt. V. 20.
62

man's eighteousness cannot save him 63

many things contrary to the name of Jesus of N^aza-
reth ; but he afterwards informs us that he did these
things " ignorantly in unbelief." ^ Surely there were
others equally sincere ; and I have no doubt that
among the Jews of that day there were many who
attained a height of creature-righteousness which has
never been surpassed in the history of the world.

They counted six hundred and thirteen precepts that
were binding on man, dividing them into three hun-
dred and sixty-five prohibitions and two hundred and
forty-eight commands, and were scrupulously exact in
striving to observe every one of them. They read the
Scriptures diligently ; they prayed constantly ; they
kept the Sabbath strictly ; they contributed systemat-
ically to support the services of God's house; they
adorned themselves with all the beauties of a faultless
morality and maintained an incorruptible integrity in
their social relations ; but even then our Lord, w^ho
can neither deceive nor be deceived, solemnly an-
nounced that their righteousness utterly failed to pro-
cure for them a title to the heavenly inheritance ;
" for they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and
going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of
God." Paul, too, assures us that, ''touching the
righteousness w^hich is in the law," he w^as blameless
before he became a Christian ; and yet this boasted
blamelessness could not save him, but afterwards was
regarded by him as sinfulness. If, then, the testi-
mony of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit speaking

» 1 Tim. i. 13.

64 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

by the apostle is to be believed on any subject, it is cer-
tain that a creature-righteousness could not save the
Jews, and it is no less certain that it cannot save the
Gentiles.

It has been the great purpose of Jehovah from the
beginning, I may say, to teach this fundamental truth
to mankind, for He stated and rehearsed it as dis-
tinctly before the coming of the Saviour into the
world as He did afterwards. Thus when our first
parents plucked the forbidden fruit, we are told, " the
eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked, and they sewed fig-leaves together,
and made themselves aprons." * The violated law in-
stantly thundered its curse against them : " Thou shalt
surely die ; " * but grace sweetly spoke in the promise
of the conquering seed, and then it is added, " Unto
Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make
coats of skins and clothed them." ^ What have we
here but the insufiiciency of man's righteousness
as well as the precious truth of Divine righteousness
taught in symbol ? The attempt which Adam made
with his apron of fig-leaves to cover his nakedness
utterly failed, and hence he and his wife hid them-
selves from the presence of the Lord God among the
trees of the garden ; but the robe which Jehovah pro-
vided, and which told the story of the shedding of
blood (as the appointed victim had to be slain before
it could be presented), was Divinely perfect in its
way ; and when once received we read no longer of
the sinner hiding from the view and voice of his

*Geu. iii. 7 «Gen. ii. 17. 'Gen. iii. 21.

man's eighteousness cannot save him 65

Father. Again, in the next chapter, we learn that
" in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought
of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock
and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect
unto Abel and to his offering : but unto Cain and to
his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very
wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said
unto Cain, Why art thou wroth, and why is thy
countenance fallen ? If thou doest well [that is. If
thou offerest properly], shalt thou not be accepted ?
And if thou doest not well [offerest not properly],
sin lieth at the door." ' Here we have two altars,
the one laden with beautiful fruits and fragrant
flowers, the product of the worshipper's honorable
toil, and the expression, no doubt, of his grateful
and sincere homage, while the other is dripping
with the blood of a dead lamb. The difference
between the two brothers did not consist in the
superiority of either by nature, but in the sacrifices
which they presented. The one occupied the ground
of man's righteousness in his worship, and hence was
rejected ; the other occupied the ground of Divine
righteousness, and consequently was accepted ; for the
Holy Ghost informs us that " by faith Abel offered
unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by
which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God
testifying of his gift."^ The offerer and the offering
were identified, and stood or fell together, God re-
garding the former in the light of the latter, and pro-
iGen. iv. 3-7. ^Ueb. xi. 4.

66 THE WAY MADE PLAIl^

claiming, even in that early age, that man's righteous-
ness cannot save him.

It would be impossible, without writing a book
nearly as large as the Bible itself, to give all the state-
ments and illustrations of this essential doctrine found
in the Scriptures, for the word of God from first to
last views man as hopelessly ruined in himself, and
sets forth in every variety of form his need of a bet-
ter, even of a Divine, righteousness to enter into life.
It is true, Moses said to the Hebrews in the wilder-
ness, " It shall be our righteousness, if we observe to
do all these commandments before the Lord our God,
as he hath commanded us ; " * but the little word
"^Z"" is very important in this connection, and the in-
spired history shows that they did not observe to do
any of the commandments before the Lord their God
as He commanded them. When they came to Sinai
under the gentle conduct of grace that bare them on
eagles' wings and promised to make them a kingdom
of priests and a holy nation, " all the people answered
together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken
we will do ; " ^ and yet scarcely had the rash vow
proceeded from their lips before they were found
dancing and bowing in idolatrous worship around a
golden calf. Alas poor man ! such is ever the end of
his effort to obtain a righteousness of his own : defeat,
discomfiture, disgrace, is the invariable result. Hence
we hear the Psalmist exclaiming : " I will go in the
strength of the Lord God : I will make mention of
thy righteousness, even of thine only."^ " Who shaU

^Deut. vi. 25. ^E^od. xix. 8. »Ps. Ixxi. 16.

man's eighteousness cannot save him 67

ascend into the hill of the Lord ? or who shall stand
in his holy place ? . . . He shall receive the bless-
ing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God
of his salvation.'" "Mercy and truth are met to-
gether; righteousness and peace have kissed each
other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and
righteousness shall look down from heaven." ^ By the
mouth of His prophets the Almighty says, " O Israel,
thou hast destroyed thyself ; but in me is thine help." ^
" Their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." ^
" And this is his name whereby he shall be called, The
Lord our Kighteousness." ^

The Old Testament, then, clearly shows how and
where righteousness is to be obtained ; and in every
instance it entirely excludes man's righteousness as
the ground upon which God pronounces the sentence
of justification. " All our righteousness," it declares,
" are as filthy rags " ^ (not all our wickednesses merely,
for this any one is ready to admit, but all our right-
eousnesses are as rags, nay, filthy rags), and " he that
trusteth in his own heart is a fool." ^

Even the most illustrious saints whose splendid
achievements are recorded in its pages are held up
by the Holy Ghost in illustration, not of the value,
but of the worthlessness, of creature-righteousness as
the means of gaining acceptance w^ith the Holy One
of Israel. " For what saith the Scripture ? Abraham
believed God, and it [his believing God] was counted

iPs. xxiv. 3, 5. 2ps^ Ixxxv. 10, 11. » Hos. xiii. 9.

Isa. liv. 17. 'Jer. xxiii. 6. ^Isa, Ixiv. 6.

' Prov. xxviii. 26.

68 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

unto him for righteousness." ' " Even as David also
describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom
God imputeth righteousness without works." ^ To
this must be added the testimony of the selfsame
Spirit in the New Testament, who says, "• To him that
worketh not, but belie veth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." ^
Again, he speaks of righteousness not as a reward
fairly earned, but as a gift freely bestowed : " For
if by one man's offence death reigned by one ; much
more they which receive abundance of grace and of
the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offence of one
judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; even
so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all men [all united to Christ] unto justification
of life." ■' Again : '' What shall we say then ? That
the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness,
have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness
which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after
the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law
of righteousness. Wherefore ? Because they sought
it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the
law." ^ Again : " After that the kindness and love
of God our Saviour towards man appeared, not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but ac-
cording to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; which
he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our

* Rom. iv. 3. ^ Rom. iv. 6. ^ Rom. iv. 5.

« Rom. V. 17, 18. * Rom. ix. 30-32.

Saviour ; that being justified by bis grace, we should
be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." '

It is useless, however, to quote other passages bear-
ing the same testimony, because if my readers bow
to the authority of God's word they are already con-
vinced by w^hat has been written ; and if they refuse
to accept that word as true, it would avail nothing to
quote the whole Bible. It is certain that there is not
a line in the book in conflict with the testimony here
given; and hence it is equally certain that man's
righteousness cannot save him. It is true " that faith
without works is dead ; " ^ but this is not saying that
works save ; or that faith and works put together
save the soul, for this would make faith itself a work.
If it be true that faith without works is dead, do not
forget that works without faith are also dead. " What
doth it profit, my brethren," writes James, " though
a man say he hath faith, and have not works ? Can
faith save him ? " ^ What doth it profit, my brethren,
though a man say he hath ten thousand a year, and
have it not ? Can his saying it do him any good ?
Depend upon it, Paul and James speak the same
things ; for it is one Spirit who speaks through them
both. Paul speaks of a real possession of faith ;
James of a mere profession of faith. Paul speaks of
a faith that justifies us before God ; James of a faith
that justifies us in the sight of men. Paul speaks of
an inward principle ; James of its active development.
Paul speaks of a hidden life ; James of its outward
manifestation. Paul speaks of a " faith which work-

^ Tit. iii. 4-7. ^ janies ii. 20. ^ James ii. 14. '

70 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

eth b}^ love," ' and so does James ; and hence these
two honored servants of the Lord are in perfect
accord, only they view the same landscape from dif-
ferent points, and are fighting the same foe of
legalism with their backs to each other. Both of
them join all the holy men of God who " spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost," ^ in solemnly
declaring that righteousness is the gift of grace, that
is, of God's mimerited favor ; for " by grace ye are
saved," ^ " and if by grace, then it is no more of
works : otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it
be of works, then it is no more grace : otherwise work
is no more work." ^

II. Keeping in mind that righteousness, when ap-
plied to man, signifies the state or condition of being
right according to the infallible judgment of God's
law, a moment's reflection will show that we can
never be saved in virtue of our own good character
and conduct. The Holy Spirit tells us that " as many
as are of the works of the law are under the curse :
for it is written. Cursed is every one that continueth
not in all things which are written in the book of the
law to do them." ^ If, therefore, a man expects to be
saved by means of his well-doing, it is obvious that
he must not only profess to do, or try to do, right,
but he must actually do, and continue to do, not only
some things, but all things, which are written in the
book of the law. If, however, he has failed to do
right, and, on the other hand, has done wrong, it is

» Gal. V. 6. 2 2 Pet. i. 21. ' Eph. ii. 5.

* Kom. xi. 6. * Gal. iii. 10.

man's EIGllTEOUSNESS CANNOT SAVE HIM 71

no less obvious that he cannot be saved by his doing,
whatever other ground of hope may suggest itself to
his mind. "Master," said a certain lawyer to our
Saviour, " what shall I do to inherit eternal life ? He
said unto him, What is written in the law ? How
readest thou? And he answering, said, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all
thy mind ; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said
unto him, Thou hast answered right : this do, and
thou shalt live." ^ Those, then, and only those, who
can truthfully assert that they have always loved God
with all the faculties of their being, and their fellow
men as themselves, may claim to be righteous, and
expect eternal life on the ground of their own right-
eousness. But what shall we say when we find it
written in the Word of Truth, " There is none right-
eous, no not one," ^ " for all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God " ?^ Clearly, the only pos-
sible conclusion is that reached by the apostle when
he argues, " Therefore, by the deeds of the law there
shall no flesh be justified in his sight : for by the law
is the knowledge of sin." ^

It will not remove the difficulty a hair's-breadth to
repent and promise to abstain in the future from any
violation of the law ; for if such a promise could be
kept for a day or an hour, could it atone for past
transgressions? Suppose that a criminal, arrested
after repeated offences running through a long

1 Luke X. 25-28. « Rom. iii. 10.

3Kom. iii. 23. <Kom. iii. 20.

72 THE AVAY MADE PLAIN

course of years, and put upon his trial and con-
victed, and asked by the judge if he had anything to
say why sentence should not be pronounced against
him, could only reply that he was sorry he had com-
mitted the crimes, and would hereafter conduct him-
self as a good citizen. Could such a plea be accepted
as vindicating the majesty of violated law or as
satisfying the claims of insulted justice? But the
sinner has been going on all his lifetime breaking the
law of God with every breath, and at every beat of
the pulse ; and manifestly it is the silliest delusion to
expect that he will be acquitted and pronounced right-
eous before the high tribunal of heaven simply be-
cause he has undertaken at length to perform the
duties he was required to perform from the first.
But, alas ! his efforts to keep the law in its true intent
will be as futile as his hope of acceptance on the
ground of his own works. " Thy commandment,"
says the Psalmist, " is exceeding broad ; " * and it
sweeps over the whole extent of our being, including
the thoughts and emotions as well as the words and
deeds. Our Lord, who knew the meaning of the law,
declares that " whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
after her hath committed adultery with her already
in his heart," ^ and the Spirit declares that " whoso-
ever hateth his brother," though the hand may not be
raised nor anger gleam from the eye, " is a murderer." ^
" Wherefore, then, serveth the law ? It was added
because of transgressions, till the seed should come to
whom the ^^romise w^as made." ^ " Moreover, the law

^ Ps. cxix. 96. ' Matt. v. 28. ^ 1 Jolm iii. 15. ^ Gal. iii. 19.

entered that the offence might abound." ^ It was
never designed to give life nor to be a rule of life to
a sinner with the expectation that he would keep it,
but its ministry is to penetrate the soul like the sun-
light streaming into a dark room to reveal the dust
and defilement that had remained concealed. Hence
he who has been truly awakened, and who seeks to
be conformed to the law, invariably finds that it keeps
ahead of his most earnest strivings, discovering im-
purities and iniquities of which he had never dreamed
before, and often wringing from him the cry of
anguish, " O wretched man that I am ! who shall
deliver me from the body of this death ? " ^ "If we,"
says the apostle John, .speaking for himself and all
his brethren — " If we say that we have no sin, we de-
ceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." ^ " Who-
soever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in
one point, he is guilty of all ; " ^ but " in many things
we offend all," ^ and therefore it is sheer madness to
claim that man's righteousness can save him, because
he has no righteousness, and never will have any, of
his own. If, however, any are disposed to argue that,
notwithstanding their imperfections, God will be
merciful, and bestow eternal life for the sake of the
good they have done, you observe that they shift the
ground of their hope from their own doings, and
really admit that their righteousness cannot save
them.

III. The work of Christ shows conclusively that

' Rom. V. 20. 'Rom. vii. 24. '1 John i. 8.

* James ii. 10. * James iii. 2.

74: THE WAY MADE PLAIN

we need a better righteousness than we ourselves can
render ; " for if there had been a law given which
could have given life, verily righteousness should have
been by the law ; " ' and " if righteousness come by
the law, then Christ is dead in vain."^ Yes: he
who relies for salvation upon his own works defiantly
sets his opinion in opposition to the eternal counsel of
Jehovah, and boldly declares that the awful scene on
Calvary, when the tender heart of the immaculate
and incarnate One was broken by reproach upon the
cross, was altogether unnecessary. Every one must
see, then, at a glance, the gross inconsistency of pro-
fessing to believe the Bible, and, at the same time,
denying the necessity of the atonement; for Christ
and His cross form the key to unlock the meaning of
the Scriptures, and constitute the all-pervading theme
of its sacred pages. They exhibit in every possible
form of expression the Divine person and mediatorial
w^ork of Christ Jesus, " who, being in the form of
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God :
but made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the like-
ness of men : and being found in fashion as a man, he
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
is above every name : that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that
every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

»Gal. iii. 21. »Gal. ii. 21.

to the glory of God the Father." ' Whoever, in proud
or ignorant dependence upon his good character and
conduct, refuses to confess that most worthy name
which raises the anthems of heaven to their highest
notes, will certainly find his boasted righteousness a
foundation of sand when the Lord " ariseth to shake
terribly the earth," ^

Dear reader ! be persuaded, " before that great and
notable day of the Lord come," ^ to accept the perfect
and proffered righteousness of Christ, which alone can
stand the inspection of Him whose eyes are as a flame
of fire. I do not ask you to " give your heart to
God," or to " enter into covenant with God that you
will serve him," as the means of obtaining His favor,
for this is wretched advice, although you often hear
it urged. God is already favorable, and in His in-
finite love is holding out to your immediate accept-
ance a Divine righteousness, — yea, His own righteous-
ness,— as the ground of your instant, complete, and
eternal justification. Without this you may unite
with any church, or with all the churches, on the face
of the earth ; you may be baptized in any mode, or in
all the modes ever practiced ; you may receive confir-
mation at the hands of the most distinguished ecclesi-
astical dignitary in the world ; you may regularly
partake of the Lord's Supper in the most stately cathe-
dral and amid the most imposing ceremonies ; you
may bestow all your goods to feed the poor, and give
your body to be burned ; and after all remain the
same condemned and ruined sinner you are at present.

1 Phil, ii, 6-11. 'Isa. ii. 19. " Acts ii. 20.

T6 THE AVAY MADE PLAIN

But now the righteousness of God which is by faith
of Jesus Christ is unto all, that is, it is offered to all,
and it is actually upon all them that believe. The
righteousness of God ! What a wonderful truth !
Blessed be His name, the worst need nothing better
than this, but the best can do with nothing less.
"While such a righteousness is so generously pressed
upon dying men, sad indeed it is to think of the vast
multitudes who, " being ignorant of God's righteous-
ness, and going about to establish their own right-
eousness, have not submitted themselves unto the
righteousness of God." I would not undervalue, in
the slightest degree, the real worth of morality in its
relation to human society, but do not, I beseech you,
put it in the place of righteousness ; for the former
may shine in its brightest glory without receiving one
ray from the latter to mingle v^ith its radiance.
" Covet earnestly the best gifts : and yet show I unto
you a more excellent way." '

» 1 Cor. xii. 31.

CHAPTEE YII
CHEIST THE SAYIOUE OF THE BELIEVEE

** For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one
that believeth." — Romans x. 4.

HAYING proved by the testimony of God, first,
that man needs salvation, second, that his sin-
cerity cannot save him, and, third, that his righteous-
ness cannot save him, it may be asked by my reader.
How then can he be saved ? The reply to this in-
quiry has already been given incidentally in the
passages of Scripture that were quoted for another
purpose ; but in the present chapter I ask your atten-
tion to the special discussion of a subject which is
beyond all comparison the most important that can
engage our regard. We know not how soon death
may come to summon us away to our unchanging
destiny beyond the grave, nor how soon the Lord may
come to gather His people to Himself as a prelimi-
nary step to the infliction of terrific judgments upon
the inhabitants of the earth ; and surely every reason-
able man must see that the question of his salvation
should be distinctly, definitely, and intelligently set-
tled without delay. Blessed be God, it may be settled
instantly ; for according to the same unimpeachable
testimony which has established the propositions thus
far advanced, " Christ is the end of the law for right-
eousness to every one that believeth."

TS THE WAY MADE PLAIIS-

The precise meaning of the terms in this statement
is the first point that demands our notice. The word
translated end is used in the New Testament forty-one
times. The corresponding verb is sometimes rendered
" to accomplish," sometimes *' to finish," sometimes
'' to fulfil," and sometimes " to perform." When,
therefore, it is said that Christ is the end of the law,
we may understand that as the object of its types
and the subject of its predictions He accomplished all
that it announced as needful to be done ; or that He
finished its career in its bearing upon our salvation ;
or that He fulfilled its requisitions, its symbols, and its
ceremonies ; or that He performed the work which it
exacted as essential to the deliverance of the sinner
from its curse. But clearer light will be thrown
upon the signification of the word if we will inquire
for a moment how it is employed in other portions of
the sacred volume. For example, we read in Mat-
thew, " Ye shall be hated of all men for my name's
sake ; but he that endureth to the end shall be
saved." ' " This gospel of the kingdom shall be
preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations ; and then shall the end come." ^ In Mark
we read, " If Satan rise up against himself, and be di-
vided, he cannot stand, but hath an end." ^ " When
ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye
not troubled : for such things must needs be ; but the
end shall not be yet." ^ In Luke we read, " He shall
reign over the house of Jacob forever ; and of his

» Matt. X. 22. « Matt. xxiv. 14.

• Mark iii. 26. * Mark xiii. 7.

CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF THE BELIEVER 79

kingdom there shall be no end." * " For I say unto
you, that this that is written must yet be accom-
plished in me, And he was reckoned among the trans-
gressors : for the things concerning me have an end." '
In John we read, " Having loved his own which were
in the world, he loved them unto the end." ^ In Ro-
mans, " The end of those things is death. But now
being made free from sin, and become servants to
God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end
everlasting life." ^ In Corinthians, " Waiting for
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ : who shall also
confirm you unto the end." ^ " But every man in his
own order : Christ the first fruits ; afterwards they
that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the
end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to
God, even the Father." ^

These quotations are sufficient to illustrate the or-
dinary use of the word by the inspired writers, and
they show that we are to take it in its obvious sense
when it is said, " Christ is the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that belie veth." The law
at Sinai demanded righteousness, but grace at Cal-
vary gives righteousness, even the perfect righteous-
ness of Christ ; and to him that believeth, the law
comes to an end, and nothing remains but the right-
eousness of God Himself as the immovable ground
upon which the believer forever stands. If a man
owes a debt which he cannot discharge, and his
surety pays it for him, the law comes to an end so far

* Luke i. 33. ' Lnke xxii. 37. , ^ John xiii. 1.

*Rom. vi. 21, 22. » 1 Cor. i. 7, 8. • 1 Cor. xv. 23, 24.

80 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

as that debtor is concerned, because its requirements
have been met and its claims. satisfied, although by
another, and it has no further demands upon him. If
a murderer has been tried, convicted, and executed
for his crime, the law is at an end in his case, because
it has been honored and vindicated in the infliction
of the threatened penalty, and it cannot cause the
lifeless body of the felon to be again swung from the
gallows. In like manner, the law of God is at an end
in its bearing upon the believer in Jesus, not because
it has been set aside and trampled under foot by the
lawgiver, but because Christ took the place of the
believing sinner, paying his debt and suffering the
deadful penalty in his stead.

The word " law " in English is said to be derived
from a Saxon term which signifies " to lay." Worces-
ter is correct, therefore, in defining it as " a rule of
action laid down or prescribed by a superior." The
Greek word here used strictly signifies " anything as-
signed, distributed, apportioned ; hence a usage, cus-
tom, and all that becomes law thereby ; a law ; ordi-
nance." We are safe, then, in asserting that the word
" law," which occurs about seventy-five times in the
Epistle to the Eomans, denotes the rule of action
which God has laid down or assigned for the govern-
ment of man in his relations to his Creator and his
fellow creatures. About this rule of action a few
remarks must be made that will carry us back for a
moment to ground which we have previously trav-
ersed to some extent, but which it is well for us to
notice again.

CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF THE BELIEVER 81

First, It is a rule which it is right and proper for
man to observe. " The law is holy, and the com-
mandment holy, and just, and good." ' " We know
that the law is good."^ It is the expression of the
will of a righteous God concerning the way He would
have us feel and act, and hence its requirements can-
not be wrong. JSTo one will venture to affirm that
there is anything unjust or unbecoming in command-
ing us to love the Lord our God with all the heart,
and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and
with all the mind, and our neighbors as ourselves, and
" on these two commandments," says the Saviour,
" hang all the law and the prophets." ^

Second, It is a rule which applies to the thoughts,
emotions, and desires no less than to the words and
deeds. We have just seen that it demands supreme,
unfaltering, unceasing love to God and to our fellow
men, and love exists in the heart. Hence it is writ-
ten, " Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not charity [love], I am become as
sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I
have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mys-
teries, and all knowledge; and though I have all
faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not
charity [love], I am nothing. And though I bestow
all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my
body to be burned and have not charity [love], it
profiteth me nothing." ^ " Love is the fulfilling of the
law." ® I^o man, therefore, can keep the law in its

^ Rom. vii. 12. ^ 1 Tim. i. 8. ^ jvjatt. xxii. 40.

* 1 Cor. xiii. 1-3. ^ Rom. xiii. 10.

82 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

true intent, unless love is the sovereign principle of
his soul, subordinating to its imperial and undisputed
sway every aspiration and sentiment, every aim and
purpose, of his being. His life may be conformed to
the highest standard of human integrity, but '' the
Lord seeth not as man seeth ; for man looketh on the
outward appearance, but the Loed looketh on the
heart." * " I the Lord search the heart, I try the
reins," ^ and hence in His sight the look of lust is
" adultery," ^ and the secret passion of hate is " mur-
der." '

Third, It is a rule which consists of two parts : a
precept or command, and a penalty or punishment in
case of disobedience. Without this threatened penalty
it could not constitute a rule of action. We might
have advice or exhortation, but law, in the sense in
which the word is here used, cannot exist unless it
carries with it rewards and punishments as its high
sanction to encourage and enforce obedience. Human
governments never lay down or assign a rule of action
for the observance of their subjects until they arm it
with a penalty, for the simple reason that it could not
be a law at all were it not clothed with power to
punish the transgression or neglect of its requirements.
In the Divine government too, as a matter of fact,
penalty is connected with every rule of action which
God has laid down for our guidance, so far as our ex-
perience and observation extend. There are certain
rules of action which apply to our bodies, as the law

^ 1 Sam. xvi. 7. ^ jer. xvii. 10.

» Matt. V. 28. * 1 John iii. 15.

CHEIST THE SAVIOUR OF THE BELIEVER 83

of gravitation, and hygienic laws, or laws pertaining
to the preservation of health. If these rules are dis-
regarded, the penalty is inevitable. Sometimes it fol-
lows instantly, and sometimes it is long delayed, but
sooner or later its relentless inflictions are sure to
vindicate the majesty of broken law. There are also
certain rules of action which pertain to our mental
faculties, and the infraction of them entails derange-
ment, weakness, or other forms of punishment, unless
indeed a miracle is wrought to arrest the merciless
operation of violated law. Still further, there are
certain rules of action which are plainly intended for
the regulation of our moral nature ; and often, very
often, we witness the fearful results of disobeying
these rules in the agony, remorse, and sufferings of
various kinds that overtake the wicked. Indeed, it is
universally admitted, I believe, that sin is punished ;
while, with strange inconsistency and a feebleness of
reasoning actually puerile, many argue, or rather hope
and suppose, that it is punished only in the present
life. They do not reflect that, if God is too merciful
to punish it hereafter. He should be too merciful, ac-
cording to their view, to punish it here, since it is a
mere question of degree or duration. They seem to
recognize the justice, or, at all events, they are com-
pelled to acknowledge the fact, of its punishment to
some extent ; and hoAV can they hesitate to accept the
logical conclusion that God will deal with it in eternity
as He deals with it in time, and manifest towards it
His righteous displeasure forever? The wish with
them is plainly father to their thought ; but whatever

84 THE AVAY MADE PLAIN

their desires and conjectures, it remains unalterably
true that God's law has a penalty, and that ever}^ sin
committed under His government will be strictly
punished either in the person of the sinner or in the
person of the Divine Substitute. " The wages of sin
is death ; " ' and death includes all the penal evils in-
flicted as the consequence of sin both in this world and
the world to come. '' When lust hath conceived, it
bringeth forth sin ; and sin, when it is finished, bring-
eth forth death." ^ " Indignation and wrath, tribula-
tion and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth
evil ; of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile." ^

Fourth, It is a rule of action which every human
being, except the man Christ Jesus, has violated. Sin
is any desire, thought, word, action, or omission con-
trary to the law of God, and it is written, " There is
no man that sinneth not." ^ " There is not a just man
on earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." ^ " All
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." ^
" In many things we offend all." ^ *' If we say that
we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word
is not in us." ' "If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." ^ The
conclusion which the apostle draws from such state-
ments as these is unavoidable when he writes : " ISTow
we know that what things soever the law saith, it
saith to them who are under the law : that every
mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become

' Rom. vi. 23. ' James i. 15. ^ Rom. ii. 8, 9.

4 1 Kings viii. 46. ^ Eccles. vii. 20. « Rom. iii. 23.

' James iii. 2. ^ i john 1. 10. ^ 1 Johu i. 8.

CHKIST THE SAVIOUE OF THE BELIEVER 85

guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight : for
by the law is the knowledge of sin." ' Yes, the
plummet has been let down only to prove that there
is a total lack of rectitude on our part ; the straight
rule has been applied to our character and conduct
only to show an utter want of righteousness ; the light
from heaven has flashed into our souls only to reveal
the defilement of our nature. It is impossible, then,
that a sinner can be justified by doing the things re-
quired by the law, because he has already failed, and
continually fails, to do them ; and the law convicts
and condemns, and curses him, as it is said, " Cursed
is every one that continueth not in all things which
are written in the book of the law to do them." ^
You will observe it is not said. Cursed are some very
wicked j)eople, but. Cursed is every one that con-
tinueth not in all things — not some things, but all
things — which are written in the book of the law to
do them ; for again it is said, " Whosoever shall keep
the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
guilty of all."^ If a criminal were arraigned for
murder, it would avail him little to plead that he had
never committed more than one murder, or that
there were many other offences, such as theft and
burglary, of which he was not guilty. He might be
pardoned in view of his general good character, but
surely he could not be justified by the law as right-
eous, and his pardon could be obtained only by setting
the law aside. Neither can you be justified by the
* Rom. iii. 19, 20. * Qal. iii. 10. ^ james ii. 10.

86 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

law of God, my unsaved reader, if you have ever
broken it in a single particular, for " the soul that
sinneth [be it once or ten thousand times], it shall
die." ' You may urge that you have done no harm,
but the question is not whether you have done any
harm ; it is whether you have done good, and nothing
but good, out of the high and commanding principle
of supreme and unchanging love to your Creator and
your fellow men. The law does not pronounce its
curse against you because you are a particularly bad
person, but because you are a person at all with a
nature whose essential characteristic is lawlessness.

Having considered the meaning of the term " end "
and the term " law," we must now glance at the im-
port of the word " Christ." It properly signifies the
Anointed One, and is equivalent to Messiah in
Hebrew, as denoting an illustrious personage who
was to be anointed or consecrated to the work of sal-
vation. From the time the promise of the woman's
conquering seed was made to our fallen parents in the
garden of Eden, holy men of God who spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost constantly uttered
predictions concerning this personage, and looked
forward to His coming with eager expectation. The
entire economy under which they lived was so ordered
that its priesthood and offerings and altar, its ark and
tabernacle and temple, down to the pillars and ribands,
the coverings and curtains, the bars and boards, the
loops and taches, found in the sacred building, were
radiant with the light of His anticipated appearing

* Ezek. xviii. 4.

CHEIST THE SAVIOUR OF THE BELIEVER 87

and eloquent in His praise. He is presented through-
out the Scriptures under a wonderful variety of names,
among which we find Him called our Advocate, Alpha
and Omega, Almighty, the Amen, the Angel of the
Covenant, the Angel of Jehovah, the Apostle of our
Profession, the Author of our Faith, the Beginning
of Creation, Beloved, Branch, Bread, Bridegroom,
Brother, Captain of our Salvation, Creator, Com-
mander, Counsellor, Corner Stone, Covert from the
Tempest, Daysman, Deliverer, Door, Elect, Ensign,
End, Example, Father of Eternity, Faithful Witness,
First and Last, Fountain of Life, Foundation, Friend,
God, Guard, Guide, Governor, Head, Healer, Helper,
Hope, Horn of Salvation, Husband, I am. Image of
God, Immanuel, Intercessor, Jesus, Jehovah, Judge,
Just One, Keeper, King, Lamb, Leader, Life, Light
of the World, Lion, Lord, Maker, Mediator, Mes-
senger, Messiah, Morning Star, Passover, Peace, Phy-
sician, Priest, Prince, Prophet, Eansom, Kedeemer,
Refiner, Resurrection, Righteousness, Restorer, Ruler,
Rock, Rose of Sharon, Root of David, Sacrifice,
Saviour, Sceptre, Shepherd, Shield, Shiloh, Star,
Stone, Sun, Teacher, Tower, Truth, Yine, Way,
Witness, Wisdom, and Word.

CHAPTER YIII
CHEIST THE SAYIOUE OF THE BELIEVER

AND not only are these remarkable names applied
to Him, many of which imply His true and
proper divinity, but the attributes of God are ascribed
to Him by the inspired writers without the slightest
hesitation or apology. Eternity is said to be the
measure of His existence ; for it is written, " In the
beginning was the Word ; " ' *' Yerily, verily, I say
unto you. Before Abraham was, I am ; " ^ " And now,
O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with
the glory which I had with thee before the world
was ; " ^ " But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though
thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet
out of thee shall he come forth unto me, that is to
be ruler in Israel ; whose goings forth have been from
of old, from everlasting." ^ Immutability belongs to
Him ; for God addresses Him in the sublune words,
" Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the founda-
tion of the earth ; and the heavens are the works of
thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest ;
and they all shall wax old as doth a garment ; and as
a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be
changed : but thou art the same, and thy years shall
not fail." ^ " Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and

' John i. 1. ' John viii. 58. ^ John xvii. 5.

< Mic. V. 2. 5 Heb. i. 10-12.

CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF THE BELIEVER 89

to-day, and forever." ' Omnipotence is His ; for even
as Mediator, He could say, " All power is given unto
me in heaven and in earth ; " ^ and He reveals Him-
self to John on Patmos as the " Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which
is, and which was, and which is to come, the Al-
mighty." ^ Omnipresence is His ; for while on earth
He spoke of Himself as " the Son of man which is in
heaven " ; * and encouraged the hearts of His disciples
with the sweet promise, " Where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst
of them ; " 5 " and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto
the end of the world." ^ Omniscience is His ; for it is
said, " He knew all men, and needed not that any should
testify of man : for he knew what was in man ; " ^ and
Peter, led of the Holy Spirit, said to Him, " Lord,
thou knowest all things ; " ^ and He Himself declares,
" I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts." ^

"We look a little farther and find that the works of
God are ascribed to Him throughout the Scriptures ;
for we learn that " all things were made by him ; and
without him was not anything made that was
made " ; ^'^ and " by him were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and
invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers : all things were created by
him and for him ; and he is before all things, and by

^ Heb. xiii. 8. ^ jyiatt. xxviii. 18. ^ p^ev. i. 8.

* John iii. 13. ^Matt. xviii. 20. « Matt, xxviii. 20.

■> John ii. 24, 25. « john xxi. 17. » Rev. ii. 23.

1^ John i. 3.

90 THE WAY MADE PLAIIT

him all things consist. And he is the head of the
body, the Church." ' " God, who at sundry times
and in divers manners spake in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets, hath in these last da3^s spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds ; who
being the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person, and upholding all things by the
word of his power, when he had by himself purged
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on high." ^ " My Father worketh hitherto, and I
work."^ "For as the Father raiseth up the dead,
and quickeneth them ; even so, the Son quickeneth
whom he will." * " I and my Father are one." *
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me ; and I give unto them eternal life." ^
" If I go not away the Comforter will not come unto
you ; but if I depart I will send him unto you," ^ and
" he shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine,
and shall show it unto you." ^ " When the Son of
man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels
with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his
glory : and before him shall be gathered all nations." ^
" We must all appear before the judgment-seat of
Christ ; that every one may receive the things done
in his body, according to that he hath done, whether
it be good or bad." ^° " Again the high priest asked

» Col. i. 16, 18. 5 Heb. i. 1-3. ' John v. 17.

< John V. 21. « John x. 30. « John x. 27, 28.

' John xvi. 7. ^ john xvi. 14. « Matt. xxv. 31, 32.

»0 2Cor. V. 10.

CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF THE BELIEVER 91

him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son
of the Blessed ? And Jesus said, I am : and ye shall
see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power,
and coming in the clouds of heaven." ^

Once more, we find that He is the object of wor-
ship which is due to God alone, and which it is the
height of blasphemy to render to the most exalted
creature in the universe. When Paul and Barnabas
were at Lystra, the inhabitants of that city, amazed
by a miracle wrought upon a cripple, said, " The gods
are come down to us in the likeness of men," and pre-
pared to offer sacrifices to the strangers ; " which,
when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they
rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, cry-
ing out, and saying. Sirs, why do ye these things ? " ^
When John had a revelation of the Divine purpose
w4th respect to the Church in the heavenly glory and
of the world smitten by terrible judgments, he says,
" I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel
w^hich showed me these things. Then saith he unto
me, See thou do it not : for I am thy fellow-servant,
and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which
keep the sayings of this book: worship God."' But
when the risen Christ appeared to Thomas, that
doubting disciple, who demanded the evidence of his
own senses to satisfy his mind, " said unto him. My
Lord and my God ; " * and he said this without the
slightest intimation that he was guilty of blasphemy
in applying these high titles to Jesus. Our Lord

' Mark xiv. 61, 62. « Acts xiv. 14, 15.

'Rev. xxii. 8, 9. '♦John xx. 28.

92 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

subsequently appeared to the disciples in a mountain
of Galilee where He had appointed to meet them, and
it is said that " when they saw him they worshipped
him " ; * and they evidently worshipped Him without
rebuke, for immediately afterwards He claims uni-
versal power, and commands them to teach all
nations, baptizing in His name as well as in the name
of the Father and of the Holy Ghost, promising to be
with them always. IS'ay, He tells us it is the Father's
will " that all men should honor the Son, even as they
honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son
honoreth not the Father which hath sent him." ^ He
said to his apostles, " Ye believe in God, believe also
in me ; " ^ and we know it is the sovereign pleasure
and eternal purpose of God '* that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow ; of things in heaven,
and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and
that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father." ^ We are not
surprised, then, to learn that when the martyred
Stephen fell asleep he addressed his dying prayer to
Christ, saying, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." ^
Nor are we surprised to learn that the inspired
writers through the Epistles constantly assert His
Divinity, supplicate His blessing, and associate Him
on terms of perfect equality with the Father and the
Holy Ghost in the apostolic benediction, for the Fa-
ther Himself sends forth the royal proclamation, say-
ing, "And let all the angels of God worship him."®

^Matt. xxviii. 17. ^ j^i^^ ^ 03. » John xiv. 1.

<Pbil. ii. 10, 11. »Acts vii. 59. ^ Heb. i. 6.

CHKIST THE SAVIOUR OF THE BELIEVER 93

If the Being of whom all this can be truthfully
affirmed is not God, surely there is no God. If He
who is called by Divine names, who wears Divine
titles, who possesses Divine attributes, who performs
Divine works, and is represented as worthy of Divine
worship, has not a Divine nature, it is simply impos-
sible to express the doctrine of the Deity in language.
I have hastily skimmed over the surface of a very
limited portion of the Scriptures to establish this
doctrine, but enough has been said to prove it to the
satisfaction of any mind that is submissive to the au-
thority of God's word; and I must add that its
cordial reception on your part, dear reader, is abso-
lutely essential to your salvation. J^othing can be
more offensive in the sight of the Father than the
denial of the Divinity of His Son ; and hence He says
to us by the Spirit, " If there come any unto you, and
bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your
house, neither bid him Godspeed : for he that biddeth
him Godspeed is partaker of his evil deeds." ^ But
besides the blasphemy of denying His Divinity, I may
say that it becomes an absolute necessity if we are to
be saved, because none but a Divine person could be
the end of a Divine law. I would not hang the in-
terests of my undying soul upon the arm of the
strongest seraph in heaven; for angels have sinned
and fallen from their high estate ; ^ and I need, yea, I
must have, the righteousness, the power, and the un-
changeableness of a Divine Eedeemer as the solid
foundation of my hope before I can find lasting repose.

1 2 JohD X. 11. 2 2 Pet. ii. 4.

94 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

This need is precisely and perfectly met in the
person and work of ^' Christ Jesus, who, being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with
God : but made himself of no reputation [emptied
himself], and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men ; and being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross." * If the phrase, " took upon him the form of
a servant," means that He was truly man, it is equally
certain that the phrase, " being in the form of God,"
means that He was truly God; and if you ask me
how God could become man, I reply, I do not know,
nor care to know, because the blessed fact satisfies my
mind and heart ; and until I can tell how I raise my
hand, or how a blade of grass grows, I shall not reject
the glorious doctrine of the incarnation on account of
its mystery. "Without controversy great is the
mystery of godliness : God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up
into glory." ^ Man's ignorance should never be
weighed against God's positive testimony, and we
find that this testimony was given hundreds of years
before the birth of Jesus in the form of a prophecy :
'•' Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and
shall call his name Immanuel." ^ Turning to the Xew
Testament, we read, " Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise : When as his mother Mary was
espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she

» Phil. ii. 6-8. 3 1 Tim. iii. 16. » Isa. vii. 14.

CHEIST THE SAVIOUR OF THE BELIEVER 95

was found with child of the Holy Ghost. . . .
Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, say-
ing, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall
bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Immanuel, which, being interpreted, is, God with
us." ^ Here the voice of the Eternal is heard speak-
ing to the proud intellect, saying, " Be still, and know
that I am God : " ^ and here it is the highest province
of reason to sit reverently at the manger of Beth-
lehem, and gaze with adoring gratitude upon the sub-
lime mystery of incarnate love. " When the fulness
of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made
of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them
that were under the law, that we might receive the
adoption of sons." ^ " For what the law could not do,
in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for
sin, condemned sin in the flesh : that the righteous-
ness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit."*

The word " redeem," in the first of these passages,
properly means to deliver by the payment of a ran-
som ; and we know the price paid for our deliverance
from the curse of the law : for the Saviour tells us
"the Son of man came ... to give his life a
ransom for many." ^ In the second passage, when it
is said, " What the law could not do, in that it was
weak through the flesh," we are to understand that

J Matt. i. 18, 22, 23. ^pg xi^j, iq. ^ Gal. iv. 4, 5.

*Rom. viii. 3. 4. 'Matt. xx. 28.

96 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

the law could not give us righteousness ; not that it
was imperfect in itself, but because it was rendered
inadequate, ineffectual, inoperative, by reason of our
flesh or corrupt nature ; and, therefore, God, in His
amazing grace sending forth His own Son, inflicted
upon Him the sentence of condemnation, not only
against sins in their outward form, but against sin in
the flesh, or the sin of our nature. And " now the
righteousness of God without the law is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets ; even
the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus
Christ unto all [that is, it is offered to all], and upon
all them [that is, it is the actual portion of all them]
that believe." ^ I cannot be too emphatic in remind-
ing you that the law has not been set aside, but that
it has been honored, vindicated, obeyed, satisfied, in
every jot and tittle of its claims upon the believer,
because " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us." ^

As another has beautifully written, "We were
under the curse, because we had not kept the law ;
but Christ, the perfect Man, having magnified the
law and made it honorable by the very fact of His
obeying it perfectly, became a curse for us by hang-
ing on the tree. Thus, in His life He magnified God's
law, and in His death He bore our curse. There is,
therefore, now, no guilt, no curse, no wrath, no con-
demnation for the believer; and albeit he must be
manifested before the judgment-seat of Christ, he will
find that judgment-seat every whit as friendly, by

» Rom. iii. 21, 22. «Gal. iii. 13.

CHEIST THE SAVIOUR OF THE BELIEVER 97

and by, as the mercy-seat is now. It will make
manifest the truth of his condition, namely, that there
is nothing against him ; what he is, it is ' God that hath
wrought him.' He is God's workmanship. He was
taken up in a state of death and condemnation, and
made just what God would have him to be. The
Judge Himself has put away all his sins and is his
righteousness, so that the judgment-seat cannot but
be friendly to him ; yea, it will be the full, public,
authoritative declaration to heaven, earth, and hell,
that the one who is washed from his sins in the blood
of the Lamb is as clean as God can make him." Yes,
he is as clean as God can make him, because Christ is
the end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth ; and, as we have ah*eady seen, this right-
eousness which he receives through faith is the very
righteousness of God Himself. The law is satisfied
and can ask no more. It stood, if I may so speak,
hand in hand with justice, looking upon that awful
scene in Calvary where God " made him to be sin for
us who knew no sin ; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him," ' and when they heard
the cry, " It is finished," ^ they knew that the dying
Kedeemer had prevailed through death " to make an
end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity,
and to bring in everlasting righteousness," ^ and now
they join grace and mercy in extending a joyful wel-
come to the believing sinner.

They pursue him to the grave of Jesus, but they
can go no farther, for their demands have all been

1 2 Cor. V. 21. 2 John xix. 30. ^ j)aii. ix. 24.

98 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

met by Him who lay in the sepulchre of stone, and
they come to an end, Avliile the believer passes safely
through, and stands in the new creation upon which
God looks down with infinite delight and sees that it
is " very good." On this side of that tomb there is
nothing but sin ; on the other side there is nothing
but righteousness. On this side there is nothing but
condemnation ; on the other side there is nothing but
justification. On this side there is nothing but death ;
on the other side there is nothing but life. Theolog-
ical writers tell us that while the law is no longer the
rule of justification, it is still the rule of life ; but
surely they have no authority in the word of God for
the assertion. In their anxiety to avoid the evils of
Antinomianism, or the infamous doctrine that the
Christian has license to sin, they fall into the opposite
error of legalism, and " put a yoke upon the neck of
the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we are
able to bear." ' When they affirm that the law is
still the rule of life, if they mean that it still declares
the mind of God as to what man ought to be and do,
there can be no objection to the expression ; but if
they mean that the believer is required to walk ac-
cording to this rule in order to salvation, and that he
will be judged and condemned if he fails in conform-
ity to its demands, nothing can be more false. The
very ground upon which the apostle exhorts Christians
to abstain from sin, and assures them that it shall not
have dominion over them, is, that they "are not
under the law, but under grace. What then ? shall

^ Acts XV. 10.

CHRIST THE SAVIOUK OF THE BELIEVER 99

we sin, because we are not under the law, but under
grace ? God forbid." ' " What shall we say then ?
Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound ?
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live
any longer therein ? . . . Knowing this, that our
old man is [or rather teas'] crucified with him, that
the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth
we should not serve sin. . . . Likewise reckon ye
also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive
unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." ^

Elsewhere the same apostle says, " As many as are
of the works of the law are under the curse," ^ and no
exception is made in favor of the believer. " But now
we are delivered from the law, that being dead
wherein we were held [or we being dead to that
wherein we were held] ; that we should serve in new-
ness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter." ^
Christ took our place under the law, and by enduring
its penalty made an end of it, and henceforth He is
our life and rule of life, and all in all to the saved
soul. The Bible everywhere affirms that when He
died we who believe also died ; and when He was
made alive, God " quickened us together with Christ,
(by grace ye are saved ; ) and hath raised us up to-
gether, and hath made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus." ^ There the believer is now,
as God views him ; no longer on earth, but in the
heavenly places ; having a perfect righteousness be-
cause his Divine Surety has met all the demands of

» Rom. vi. 14, 15. ' Rom. vi. 1, 2, 6, 11. =* Gal. iii. 10.

* Rom. vii. 6. * Eph. ii. 5, 6.

^SUG'Pi

100 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

the law for him, and possessing the resurrection life of
Jesus, which is something infinitely better than the
life given to Adam in Eden.

Thus it is, " Christ is the end of the law for right-
eousness to every one that belie veth ; " because His
righteousness, or that which He did to satisfy the
claims of the law, is imputed to the believer ; and if
you desire to know the meaning of the term " im-
puted," turn to the Epistle to Philemon where the
apostle, speaking of Onesimus, says, "If he hath
wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on
mine account." ^ There the phrase, " put that on
mine account," is precisely the same word in Greek
which the apostle uses in Eomans where he says,
" Sin is not imputed when there is no law." ^ The
righteousness of Christ, then, is put on the account of
the believer ; and whatever merits Christ has in the
sight of the Father the believer also possesses. He
who was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from
sinners " ; ^ " who did no sin, neither was guile found
in his mouth " ; ^ who had the approval of God in " a
voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased";^ who could say, "I do
always those things that please him," ^ and who " ap-
peared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself," ^
is no nearer to the heart of the Father than is the
believing sinner. The measure of the acceptance of
one in the sight of God is the precise measure of the

1 Philera. 18. ""^oxw. v. 13. ' Heb, vii. 26.

* 1 Pet. ii. 22. ^ j^iatt. iii. 17. « John viii. 29. .

' Heb. ix. 26.

CHRIST THE SAVIOUR OF THE BELIEVER 101

acceptance of the other. Oh, matchless grace ! I do
not wonder that men are so slow to believe it, for the
news seems too good to be true. But it is true, for
the Holy One hath said it, and it is true to every one
that believeth. Believeth ^vhat? Believeth that
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness ; be-
lieveth that Christ appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself ; believeth the testimony of God
that " the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin." '

Many precious thoughts here crowd upon my mind,
but I must not give utterance to them at present, for
I have already made this chapter too long. The dis-
cussion of belief will come up again, if the Lord will,
and I cannot dwell upon it now. I merely wish to
say that when men tell you to do anything to be saved
they are preaching the law and not the Gospel. You
have only to believe ; and believing is not doing : it is
the opposite of doing ; it is simply receiving, and rest-
ing on the finished w^ork of Christ which is already
done, and done more than eighteen hundred years
ago. The sin-hating God met the sin-bearing Jesus at
the place of a skull, and there once and forever settled
the question of the believer's salvation, and we had
nothing to do with it. Now the glad tidings are sent
forth to the ends of the earth : " Be it known unto
you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this
man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins ; and
by him all that believe are justified from all things,
from which ye could not be justified by the law

' 1 John i. 7.

102 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

of Moses." * Are justified : mark that. They are
already justified ; and tliey cannot be partly justified
and partly unjustified, partly saved and partly un-
saved. If they believe that what God has said about
His Son is true, and true for them, as it is for any
other sinner, they have at this present moment a per-
fect righteousness, and there is not one condemnation
against them. What, then, do these doubting be-
lievers mean, if I may be allowed to use such an
expression as doubting believers ? If their doubts
are true, God is a liar, but if God is true their doubts
are liars ; for He hath said, " Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to every one that belie veth."

^ Acts xiii, 38, 39.

CHAPTEE IX
NO HOPE FOE THE SIN:^EE IN THE LAW

*' For Moses describetb the righteousness which is of the law, That
the mau which doeth those things shall live by them. ' ' — liomans x, 5.

TIIEEE are only two ways by which men expect
to enter heaven. One is by domg, the other is
by believing. We often hear doleful and sometimes
unmeaning complaints about the great diversity of
religious opinions in the world, but all systems of
faith can be readily reduced to the two already
mentioned. In the one class w^e must place that vast
multitude without the pale of the Christian Church
who, acknowledging in general terms the existence of
God and a future state of rewards and punishments,
seek to win the approval of their Creator by their
amiable character, or by their upright conduct, or by
certain acts of worship sanctioned by custom or sug-
gested by conscience. To these must be added that
vast multitude within the pale of the Church who
seek to win the approval of their Creator by their
prayers, or good works, or reception of what are
called the Sacraments. I am not here referring to
any particular denomination of professing Christians,
but to all in every denomination who rely upon any-
thing whatever that they have done or can do to be
saved.

103

104 TUE AVAY MADE PLAIN

They agree precisely with the former class, and
stand upon precisely the same ground, and are doomed
to the same end ; for the unbelievei's are to have their
" portion with the hypocrites," ^ and the hypocrites
are to have their " portion with the unbelievers." ^ If
the one will be saved by well-doing, so will the other,
unless it can be shown that God has promised eternal
life for a special kind of well-doing ; but if the one
will be lost for refusing to rest simply and solely upon
the finished work of Christ, so will the other. The
fact that some are members of the Church and some
are not does not change in the slightest degree the
principle on which they act, and which in both cases
is the principle of doing as the procuring cause of
salvation. One man hopes to be saved because he
pays his just debts, or because he is honorable in his
business transactions, or because he is a faithful hus-
band, an indulgent father, and a kind neighbor, or be-
cause he contributes his money, example, and energies
to advance the welfare of the community and country
in which he lives. Another man hopes to be saved
because he has been baptized in what he supposes to
be an authorized form and by an authorized minister,
or because he has partaken of the Lord's Supper, or
because he goes to church, or because he tries to live
up to the rules of the ecclesiastical body which he has
joined and does his part in promoting the interests of
that body.

It is obvious that these two men do not differ with
respect to the principle which underlies their hope of

1 Matt. xxiv. 51. ' Luke xii. 46.

NO HOPE FOR THE SINNER IN THE LAW 105

salvation, for they depend alike upon their own doing
to be admitted into the glorious d^Yelling-place of
God when called to leave the world. One may ut-
terly reject the Divine authority of the Bible, and the
other may be a Presbyterian, or Baptist, or Congrega-
tionalist, or Methodist, or Episcopalian, or Koman
Catholic, or known by any other denominational
title ; but it is clear that they build upon the same
foundation and must stand or fall together. If you
ask for the reason of their expectation that they will
be saved, you will find that in both cases they rely on
something that they have done^ or are doing ^ or intend
to do^ and hence the ground of their hope, so far as
they put themselves to the trouble of forming any dis-
tinct views of the subject, is one and the same, whether
they are in or out of the Church. It is to be feared
that there are thousands in all the churches who would
listen with blank amazement to the solemn direction
of the Holy Ghost, " Be ready always to give an an-
swer to every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in you ; " ' but when we are able by close
questioning to arrive at that reason, it amounts to
nothing more than this : they were taught to believe
that they are sinners, and sometimes a slumbering
conscience wakes up long enough to confirm the teach-
ing ; and influenced by the example and wishes of
parent, or husband, or wife, or friend, they made a
profession of religion, as it is significantly called.
They are not happy in their relations to God, who is
an object of dread or indifference, and hence they

^ 1 Peter iii. 15.

106 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

think it wise to do something to secure them against
punishment in the eternal world in case of sudden
death, while their tastes, aims, and aspirations centre
with supreme regard about the present world. I have
known Christian mothers to take great comfort from
the fact that their daughters, after a night of God-for-
getting and God-defying revelry, were pious enough
to say their prayers before retiring to rest ; and the
poor deluded daughters really fancy that they have
done something to cause the sleepless eye of Jehovah
to look upon them complacently.

Upon ministers of the Gospel — nay, ministers of
the law, I should term them — largely rests the re-
sponsibility for this lamentable state of things ; be-
cause in reply to the earnest question of many an
anxious soul, " What must I do to be saved ? " ' in-
stead of answering in the language of the apostle,
and preaching the good news of God's love and of a
finished salvation to the believer, they tell the inquirer
to be confirmed, or to unite with the Church, or to
enter into covenant with God to serve Him, or to
keep on praying and striving, and thus put the dead
sinner on a course of worthless doing. " They be
blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead
the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." ^ God
knows I do not desire to express myself harshly ; and
surely I can have no wish to excite the enmity and
call forth the opposition of those who are warmly at-
tached to their religious teachers and to the systems
of religious faith in which they have been educated ;

1 Acts xvi. 30. "J Matt. xv. 14.

NO HOPE FOR THE SIN"NER IN THE LAW 107

but the interests involved in this discussion are too
precious to allow the use of honeyed phrases concern-
ing men who claim to be " the servants of the most
high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation." *
" To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light
in them." ^ " For Moses describe th the righteousness
w^hich is of the law. That the man which doeth those
things shall live by them."

If then a man expects to obtain righteousness by
the law or by the principle of doing, he must do the
things required by the law. It is not enough that he
tries to do them ; or that he promises to do them ;
or that he is sorry because he has not done them ; or
that he does some of them ; but he must actually do,
and do without faltering, and do all the things de-
manded by the law, or a voice breaks like thunder
above his head, saying, " Cursed is every one that con-
tinueth not in all things which are written in the book
of the law to do them."^ God, who gave the law
and knows why He gave it, has also said, " Whosoever
shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point,
he is guilty of all." ^ " And the Levites shall speak,
and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice,
. . . Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the
words of this law to do them ; and all the people shall
say. Amen."** Even the incarnate One who came on
a mission of love and salvation to our lost race sol-
emnly declared, " Till heaven and earth pass, one jot

^Acts xvi. 17. ^Isa. viii. 20. ^Gal. iii. 10.

* James ii. 10. ^ Deut. xxvii. 14, 26.

108 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all
be fulfilled." * The law, therefore, cannot lower its
demands to humor the caprices or to suit the necessi-
ties of the sinner, for then it would be no law at all.
It is an unalterable expression of the will of God con-
cerning the duty of man, and it remains forever the
same in its holy precepts and in its dread penalty,
whatever may be our state. Human laws are often
repealed ; or changed in some of their principal fea-
tures ; or suffered to lie on the statute book as a dead
letter ; because the legislators and the executive are
frequently ignorant, passionate, fickle, and powerless
to enforce their decrees ; but the Divine law, as we
have already seen, is perfect ; and the Divine Law-
giver has all the resources of the universe at His com-
mand to do His bidding. Hence it is written, " If
the word [that is the law] spoken by angels was stead-
fast, and every transgression and disobedience re-
ceived a just recompense of reward ; how shall we es-
cape if we neglect so great salvation ? " ^

The law, we here learn, is steadfast, stable, firmly
established ; and every transgression — not only some
gross and enormous transgressions, but every trans-
gression and disobedience — is sure to receive a just rec-
ompense of reward; " for the wages of sin is death." ^
AVhat hope, then, can the sinner derive from the law
or from reliance upon his own doing to be saved ?
Kone whatever. The righteousness which Moses de-
scribeth, that the man which doeth those things shall
live by them, most clearly can be of no avail to the

*Matt. V. 18. 2|je}j, n, o, 3. ^B.om. vi. 23.

NO HOPE FOR THE SINNER IN THE LAW 109

man who has not done them. The promise is only to
him who doeth them, and not to him who fails to do
them. If any can be found who have perfectly obeyed
the requirements of the law in thought, emotion,
word, and deed, they may begin to speak of winning
heaven on the principle of doing ; but if it can be
proved that all, without exception, have disobeyed
these requirements, it follows, so far as the law is
concerned, that it condemns and curses the entire hu-
man family, and demands that the threatened penalty
shall be inflicted.

I am not now speaking of the adorable grace and
unsearchable wisdom of the Lawgiver in providing a
substitute upon whom the penalty descended, instead
of upon " his people which he foreknew," but my aim
is to call the attention of the reader to the fact that if
his reliance for salvation is upon keeping the law or
upon his own doing, he is utterly helpless and hope-
less. Law knows no mercy. Its whole office is
discharged when it lays down a rule of action and
promises to justify or to declare righteous those who
conform to this rule, with the fearful alternative of
punishment if the rule is violated in the slightest par-
ticular. They, then, know not what they say, nor
whereof they affirm, who dismiss the tremendous
realities of eternity from their attention with the
flippant remark that they will be saved if they do the
best they can. Even if this were true, there is not
an honest man in the world who will dare say, in the
presence of the holy God, that he has always done
the best he could. The general confession contained

110 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

in the Episcopal prayer-book, " to be said by the whole
congregation after the minister," might well be said
by the whole human race in the humble acknowledg-
ment: "Almighty and most merciful Father: we
have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the devices and desires
of our own hearts. We have offended against thy
holy laws. We have left undone those things which
we ought to have done ; and we have done those
things which we ought not to have done ; and there
is no health in us." ]S"ot only have we left undone
many things which we ought to have done, but many
things which we might have done ; and not only have
we done many things which we ought not to have
done, but many things which we might have avoided.
This, I am sure, every candid and intelligent person
will promptly admit, and hence those who claim that
they will be saved if they do the best they can must
see, after a moment's reflection, that they will have
no ground upon which they can stand in the Judg-
ment.

But I will go a step farther and say that if my
reader were able from the hour his eye falls upon
these lines to abstain entirely from sin, he could not
be saved in \artue of his own doing. Yes, I will take
it for granted, for the sake of argument, that hence-
forth he can perfectly keep the law of God in thought,
word, and deed ; and, after all, he must inevitably be
lost if his dependence is placed on his own good char-
acter and conduct ; " for Moses describeth the right-
eousness which is of the law. That the man which

NO HOPE FOR THE SINNER IN THE LAW 111

doeth those things shall live by them." He does not
say that the man which doeth those things part of the
time, but all the time ; for if life is to be earned on
the principle of doing the things required by the law,
they must not be left undone, but done. If they are
left undone once or for a single instant, all hope of
being saved by doing is gone, and gone forever. Sup-
pose, then, that when judged by the law you could
truthfully claim that you had strictly observed all its
commands for ten, twenty, or thirty years, the Judge
would very properly reply, Why did you not observe
them all the time ? What were you doing the many
years previous to your observance of them but com-
mitting sin continually? According to your own
showing, you have utterly failed in your duty, and as
you prefer to be judged by the law, O sinner, you are
condemned. " Cast ye the unprofitable servant into
outer darkness : there shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth." '

What would be thought of a court of justice which
would justify or declare righteous a man arraigned at
its bar on the ground that, although he had committed
innumerable crimes through a long series of years, he
had subsequently reformed and become an upright
citizen ? The chief executive might possibly pardon
him in view of his reformation, but he could not do it
without setting the law aside; and surely he could
not pronounce him a righteous man, or right accord-
ing to law. But God can never set His " holy, just
and good " law aside, nor can He fail, as has been

» Matt. XXV. 30.

112 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

previously shown, to punish sin ; and therefore, if the
sinner could be obedient hereafter in every respect to
the demands of the law, his subsequent good conduct
could not possibly atone for his former bad conduct,
nor exempt him from the penalty which is denounced
against " every transgression and disobedience."

But it adds immensely to the embarrassment of the
sinner, and still further proves that there is no hope
for him in the law or upon the principle of doing, when
we remember that, strive as he may, he will continue
to sin. Admitting that he can wholly abstain from
transgression by the strength of his will, and resolu-
tions, and vowSj and efforts, the law cannot possibly
justify him, because he has already disobeyed its pre-
cepts, and he cannot with his utmost endeavors do
more than it requires ; so that he comes short of his
duty although he should never again be guilty of a
single offense. How helpless, then, is his condition
when he discovers by sad experience, as he surely will
discover, that the good which he would, he does not,
and the]evil which he would not, that he does ! When,
aroused from his death sleep by the quickening voice
of the Son of God, he undertakes to do something to
be saved and flies to the law for refuge, he finds to
his amazement that he had not known before the
hidden evils of his heart. He is like a man who
dwells in a dark room and imagines that it is clean,
until the law enters like the sunlight and reveals the
dust and defilement lying all around. He is like a
man who thinks in his intoxication that he is pursuing
a straight path, until the law comes, like a perfect

NO HOPE FOR THE SINNER IN THE LAW 113

rule, and shows him how crooked his ways have been.
" What shall we say then ? Is the law sin ? God
forbid. Xay, I had not known sin, but by the law ;
for I had not known lust, except the law had said.
Thou shalt not covet." *

I am but stating the experience of all, without ex-
ception, who have earnestly and resolutely tried the
law, or the principle of doing, in order to be saved,
when I say that a miserable failure has been the uni-
form result ; and it is owing to my anxiety to save
you this bitter experience, dear reader, that I dwell so
much upon a point which may seem to you of little
importance. How many sincere souls might be spared
months and years of gloomy despondency and harass-
ing fears if taught at the beginning of their religious
experience the utter uselessness and worthlessness of
their own doing ! You remember that when our
blessed Lord was on the earth, " there came one run-
ning, and kneeled to him, and asked him. Good
Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal
life ? " Observe that, like sinners now, he wanted to
do something, and the Saviour met him on his own
ground. It is as if He had said. You ask what you
must do ; and, since you are determined to seek salvar
tion by doing, " thou knowest the commandments. Do
not commit adultery. Do not kill, Do not steal. Do not
bear false witness, Defraud not. Honor thy father and
mother." You will notice that Christ takes him only
to that part of the ten commandments which requires
us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and does not refer
* Rom. vii. 7.

114 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

to that higher part which requires us to love God with
all the heart, and soul, and strength, and mind ; be-
cause the former was sufficient to disclose to the in-
quirer the deceitfulness of his heart. " And he an-
swered and said unto him. Master, all these have I
observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him
loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest :
go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the
poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven : and
come, take up the cross, and follow me." If he really
loved his neighbor as himself, why did he wish to re-
tain his immense wealth and leave others around him
wretchedly poor, when, if he had been poor and they
rich, he would have desired to share in their abun-
dance ? " And he was sad at that saying, and went
away grieved ; for he had great possessions." ' Alas !
with all his doing that made him so amiable and at-
tractive, he had not complied with the spirit of the
second table of the Decalogue, to say nothing of the
first. My reader, if you really insist upon trying to
be saved by trying to keep the law, you will discover
that it will baffle your best efforts, and outstrip your
most arduous pursuit of holiness, and more and more
reveal the abyss of ruin in which you are plunged, and
drag from their secret lurking-places in 3^our soul sins
of whose existence you have probably been ignorant.

1 Mark x. 17-22.

CHAPTEE X
NO HOPE FOE THE SINNEE W THE LAW

WHAT, then, will you do ? Go to the Church to
save you ? Poor sinner ! how can the Church
save you when it is nothing, as its name implies, but
an assembly of sinners called out from the world to
be the witness of the grace that has plucked them as
brands from the burning ? I verily believe that there
is nothing about which there is such mischievous con-
fusion of mind and such horrible darkness as concern-
ing " The Church." If the Church saves, pray in
what part of it is salvation found ? Is it in the
preacher, or the people, or the services ? Do you not
perceive at a glance that in going to the Church for
salvation you are going back to the law and to this
fatal principle of doing ? Do you not see that you
are guilty of blasphemy in transferring the perfec-
tions of Jehovah, whose high province and sole prerog-
ative it is to save, to sinful creatures like yourself ?
Take heed, I beseech you, how you put your trust in
the Church, lest you should be aroused by the terrors
of the judgment to the frightful discovery that you
have been building your hope of life on a foundation
of sand. There is not a church organization on earth
that has not departed from the simplicity and purity
in doctrine and practice of the Gospel standard ; and

115

116 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

inasmuch as the Lord has plainly revealed that all
these ecclesiastical systems are to perish amid the
crash and wreck that will close the present dispensa-
tion, he who expects to be saved in virtue of his con-
nection with any body of professing Christians will
feel the ground on which he stands give way as with
the throes of an earthquake, and no resting-place shall
be found for his soul. God forbid that I should dis-
parage the real Church, or the assembly of the saved
which constitutes the mystical body, and by and by
will be manifested as the beautiful bride, of the King
of kings ; but woe to him who hangs his hope of eter-
nal life upon her impotent arm ! He is ascribing to
the creature the power and grace that belong only to
the Creator and deludes himself with the vain confi-
dence of the Jews, in the days of the apostles, when
they lost sight of Christ to trust for salvation in
circumcision and other appointed ordinances. The
Church, however imposing her ceremonies and how-
ever exalted her dignitaries, is composed of sinners
who, believing in Jesus, " are builded together for a
habitation of God through the Spirit ; " ' and it would
be a strange thing indeed if the saved could become
the Saviour in any other sense than to testify of His
redeeming love and of the infinite merit of His aton-
ing blood.

But I will go a step farther with my argument and
assert that there could be no hope for the sinner, in
the law or on the principle of doing, even if he were
able to abstain entirely hereafter from the transgres-

^ Eph. ii. 22.

KO HOPE FOR THE SINNER IN THE LAW 117

sion of the commandments ; and even if he were able
to say truthfully that he has never in the past violated
one of these precepts ; and even if he were able to dis-
cover a Church exactly conformed in all respects to
the apostolic standard, and should become the most
prominent leader in its services. When you read this
assertion, do not, I pray you, throw the book con-
temptuously down, but, however offensive it may be,
at least consider what I have to say in its support. I
would not thrust a bony and cold-blooded theology at
you to haunt your dreams like a spectre, and I have as
little relish as you can possibly have for those nice
hair-splitting distinctions in doctrinal statement that
are of no practical value to the soul. But, dear reader,
I am dealing with a solemn truth and a tremendous
fact when I repeat that if your outward life were per-
fectly blameless, and if you were a distinguished mem-
ber of the only true Church on the face of the earth,
could you find such a body, you vf ould still need some-
thing else before obtaining a scriptural hope of salva-
tion. My authority for this declaration is found in
the oft-repeated testimony of the word of God that
our very nature is sinful, and hence our Lord, as if
addressing each person belonging to our race, distinctly
affirms, " Yerily, verily, I say unto thee" — I who
can neither deceive nor be deceived — I who came
down from heaven to die in the room and stead of lost
men — " I say unto thee, Except a man [except any
one, every one] be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God." '

* John iii. 3.

118 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

Those who reject the finished work of Christ as
the only ground of their hope may cavil as much
as they please at these words ; but there they stand
forever in the Sacred Scriptures, and no impious hand
can tear them from the Bible, and no ingenious criti-
cism can force them to signify mere reformation or
the reception of rites and sacraments. When the
blessed Saviour said, '* Ye must be born again," ' He
obviously meant just what He said, and not something
He did not say. ^Ye have been born once, — born of
our earthly parents, — and now we must be born again,
or we cannot see the kingdom of God. The way in
which we are born again is very simple, and the Lord
states it in language that cannot be misunderstood
when He says, ^' And as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the son of Man be lifted
up : that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have eternal life." ^ Whosoever believeth, then,
has eternal life, and whosocA^er has eternal life surely
sees and enters the kingdom of God : so that whoso-
ever believeth is born again. " For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who-
soever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." ^ God loved and gave, and we believe
and have ; and this is all of it in order to attain life
and experience the new birth. To the same effect we
read, ''As many as received him [Christ], to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name : which were born, not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will

» John iii. 7. ' Johu iii. 14, 15, ^ John iii. 16.

KO HOPE FOR THE SINXER IN THE LAW 119

of man, but of God."* " Whosoever believetli that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God." ^ " Ye are all the
children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." ^ " Therefore
if any man be in Christ he is a new creature," ^ or, as
it might be rendered, he is an unimpaired, uncontami-
nated creation. In other words, he is born again ; and
no one has the right to say that we can be born only
once. Indeed, unless we are born a second time, born
from above, born of God, it is certain that we can
never see heaven ; for the old nature which we inherit
from fallen Adam cannot be admitted into the pres-
ence of the Holy One of whom it is written, " Thou
art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not
look on iniquity." ^ " That which is born of the flesh
is flesh," says Jesus, " and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit." ^ The birth, then, is as real and literal
in one case as in the other, and the one is no more
mysterious than the other.

It is upon such statements as the last quoted I rest
the important doctrine that there is no hope for the
sinner in the law, even if he is and always has been
perfectly conformed to its precepts in his outward
life ; and even if he faithfully goes through the whole
round of religious observances required by the Church.
*' That which is born of the flesh is flesh ; " and our
Saviour obviously designs to teach us that it can never
be anything but flesh, while that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit, and can never be anything but spirit.
The word Jlesh, which is often used in the Bible to de-

1 John i. 12, 13. ' 1 John v. 1. ' Gal. iii. 26.

* 2 Cor. V. 17. * Hab. i. 13. « John iii. 6.

120 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

note mankind, is also frequently employed to set forth
the fact that man is corrupt and depraved ; as it is
written, " God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it
was corrupt ; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon
the earth." ' Keeping in view this universal corrup-
tion which is characteristic of the human race, it is
easy to see why the Holy Ghost directed the inspired
writers to describe our fallen, sinful nature, as we are
born into the world, by the term flesh. The Apostle
Paul says, " I know that in me (that is, in my flesh)
dwelleth no good thing." ^ " With the mind I myself
serve the law of God ; but with the flesh the law of
sin." ^ " They that are after the flesh do mind the
things of the flesh ; but they that are after the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded
[or the minding of the flesh] is death ; but to be
spiritually minded [or the minding of the spirit] is
life and peace." * " Make not provision for the flesh,
to fulfil the lusts thereof."^ "Walk in the Spirit,
and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the
flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
the flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other ;
so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." ^
" The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these :
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idol-
atry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunken-
ness, re veilings, and such like." ^ " They that are

^Gen. vi. 12. ^j^om. vii. 18. 'Rom. vii. 25.

* Rom. viii. 5, 6. « Rom, xiii. 14. «Gal. v. 16, 17.

'' Gal. V. 19-21.

NO HOPE FOR THE SINNEE IN THE LAW 121

Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections
and lusts." ' " He that soweth to his flesh shall of
the flesh reap corruption ; but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." ^

These quotations, taken from two of the Epistles,
prove that the word flesh, very often, at least, indi-
cates the depravity and sinfulness of our nature ; and
they still further prove that the nature we inherit
from fallen Adam remains depraved and sinful to the
end of life. "That w^hich is born of the flesh is
flesh," and do what you will with it, you can never
make anything of it but flesh. Adorn it with all the
charms of the most attractive morality, beautify it
with all the graces of the most refined culture, and
still it remains flesh. "Do men gather grapes of
thorns, or figs of thistles ? " ^ Can you by any amount
of care and industry cause thorns to produce grapes
or thistles to bring forth figs ? This may be done just
as soon as flesh can be turned into spirit, or that
which is inherently and essentially sinful can be
changed into holiness. " Can the Ethiopian change
his skin, or the leopard his spots ? Then," says the
Lord, " may ye also do good, that are accustomed to
do evil." * In other words, neither in the case of the
Ethiopian, nor the leopard, nor the sinner, can the
nature be changed into another nature. A new na-
ture may be imparted or a new creation wrought by
the power of the almighty, but the old nature will be
the old nature still. Hence the Bible in describing

1 Gal. V. 24. ' Gal. vi. 8.

' Matt. vii. 16. * Jer. xiii. 23.

122 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

the way of salvation does not represent it as due to
certain moral influences which God brings to bear
upon the soul, but to " the exceeding greatness of his
power to usward who believe, according to the work-
ing of his mighty power [or the energy of the might
of his power] which he wrought in Christ, when he
raised him from the dead, and set him at his own
right hand in the heavenly places." ^ Nothing short
of the highest exercise of Divine power can avail to
raise us out of the profound abyss of our misery, be-
cause our nature is helplessly sinful and hopelessly
ruined. God's judgment of our state by nature is
contained in His own solemn declaration, " the heart
is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked ; " ^
and it will give the full force of this declaration to
remember that the word translated " desperately " is
rendered " incurable " and " fatal " when applied to a
disease or a wound. Man's nature then is incurably
wicked, it is fatally injured ; and, therefore, in the
promise of salvation which the Lord addresses to
Israel, He says, " A new heart also will I give you,
and a new spirit will I put within you." ^ The psalm-
ist, taught by the Holy Ghost, prays, " Create in me
a clean heart, O God ; " ^ and neither he nor any other
of the inspired writers ever use the unscriptural phrase,
" a change of heart," which we so often hear in our
pulpits and read in our religious books.

The phrase is objectionable because it implies that the
new birth does not consist in the imparting of the new

^Eph. i. 19, 20. 'Jer. xvii. 9.

» Ezek. xxxvi. 26. * Ps. li. 10.

NO HOPE FOR THE SINNER IN THE LAW 123

nature, but in the improvement or reformation of the
old ; and for this view I am satisfied there is no foun-
dation whatever in the word of God or in Christian
experience. On the other hand, it is written, " The
carnal mind is enmity against God : for it is not sub-
ject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." ' Here
we are told that the carnal mind, the fleshly mind,
that which is born of the flesh, man's nature, is not
only an enemy, but enmity itself against God, and
that it cannot he subject to the law of God. " So,
then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God." ^
The carnal mind, or the flesh, or the old nature cannot,
therefore, be changed or improved ; for then it could
become subject to the law of God and please Him,
which is here declared to be impossible. Again : *' The
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of
God : for they are foolishness unto him : neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually dis-
cerned ; " ^ and if the natural man can neither receive
nor know the things of the Spirit of God, it seems to
be quite certain that the Spirit of God is not chang-
ing, improving and reforming the natural man or
man's old nature. Again : " The flesh lusteth against
the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh : and these are
contrary the one to the other ; " ^ and if this perpetual
conflict is going on between the two, how can it be said
that the Spirit is gradually transforming the flesh or
the old nature into His own likeness ? Again : Chris-
tians are exhorted to " put oif," not change or reform,

^Rora. viii. 7. * Rom. viii. 8.

3 1 Cor. ii. 14. -» Gal. v. 17.

124 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

but put off^ "the old man, which is corrupt [mark it,
is corrupt], according to the deceitful lusts ; " and to
" put on the new man which after God is created
in righteousness and true holiness." * Again : "In
Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything,
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature " ^ (or new
creation).

In the light of these clear statements, and of many
others like them that could be quoted if necessary, we
are compelled to see that the natm^e we have inherited
from fallen Adam is totally ruined. There is not, ac-
cording to the vain thought of many, a little good in
man as he is born into the world, " for I know that in
me (that is, m my flesh) dwelleth no good thing," ^
and in God's sight, " every imagination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil continually." ^ He is not
like a ship whose sails have been split by a storm and
whose masts have been splintered by the lightning, so
that it needs repair ; but like a shattered wreck upon
the shore. A new vessel must be built. He is not
like a musical instrument whose strings have become
discordant by the violence of some rude clashing hand,
but like one broken to pieces. A new instrument
must be constructed. He is not like a temple whose
altar is desecrated, whose walls are defaced, and whose
pillars have been dismantled of their beauty ; but the
magnificent edifice that once reflected the glory of the
Godhead now lies a shapeless mass of worthless rub-
bish, the fit abode of unclean birds and venomous

» Eph. iv. 22, 24. « 0^1. vi. 15.

*Rom. vii. 18. *Geu. vi. 5.

NO HOPE FOR THE SINNER IN THE LAW 125

reptiles; and a new building must be reared. Our
nature is like a human body full of " wounds, and
bruises, and putrefying sores ; they have not been
closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oint-
ment : " ^ and the Holy Ghost did not come down in
witness of the ascension of Christ, to inhabit such a
thing as this, and seek its improvement. It has been
cast out as vile ; and not only has the righteous sen-
tence of its doom been pronounced, but it has been
executed ; for " God sending his own Son in the like-
ness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh." Blessed be His name. He struck at the very
root of the evil, at sin in the flesh or in our nature ;
and yet, in His adorable grace, the blow fell not upon
us, but upon His own Son, " for he hath made him to
be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him." ^

Sin, then, in its broadest and deepest sense, in-
cluding both actual transgressions and the depravity
of our nature, has already been judged and condemned
and punished, so far as the believer is concerned, in
the person of Jesus Christ, " who his own self bare our
sins in his own body on the tree ; " * who " appeared
to put away sin [not sins only, but sin, the poisonous
root down in our nature] by the sacrifice of himself ; " '^
and on the ground of that ample and atoning sacrifice,
the Holy Ghost proceeds to impart a new nature, to
give a new life, to form a new creation in Christ
through faith in His name as He is made known to

' Isa. i. 6. 2 jjom^ Yiii. 3. ^2 Cor. v. 21.

* 1 Pet. ii. 24. ^ Heb. ix. 26.

126 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

US in the Gospel. But, dear reader, you are laying up
for yourself much sorro\y and trouble if you fail to
remember that the " flesh " in a Christian is no better
than the " flesh " in an infidel. '' That which is born
of the flesh is flesh," and on becoming "the children of
God by faith in Christ Jesus," we do not cease to be-
come the children of Adam. It is true that " ye are
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the
Spirit of God dwell in you ; " ' but it is equally true
that the flesh is in you ; and you will find it to be the
same flesh that it was before you believed the testi-
mony of the Gospel, and were thus " born again."
Forgetfulness or ignorance of this fact has cast many
young believers, and many old ones too, into the
depths of despondency, and made them all their life-
time subject to bondage through fear of death. They
have been taught to expect a gradual change and in-
creasing sanctification of the old nature until, as I have
heard eminent ministers express it, the Spirit puts the
finishing touch on the Christian in his dying hour,
who is thus made meet to be a partaker of the inher-
itance of the saints in light.

Kow the fact is, he was made meet the moment he
was in Christ by faith ; for the apostle, in behalf of all
Christians alike, gives " thanks unto the Father which
hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light ; " ^ and as to the gradual change
and improvement of the old nature, I boldly challenge
the experience of every intelligent, thoughtful be-
fiever to testify whether it is not the merest delusion.

» Rom. viii. 9. « Col. i. 12.

NO HOPE FOR THE SINNER IN THE LAW 127

Does he find that it is a whit better after ten, twenty
or forty years than it was the day he confessed Christ ?
Kay, does he not find that it is precisely the same, ex-
cept that there is a growing conviction of its exceed-
ing sinfulness ? True, he may be enabled through the
indwelling Spirit to subdue it more thoroughly, but
■unless it is constantly " mortified " and " kept under,"
it will spring up in all its original deformity, and
obscure the shining of the new nature. Careful ob-
servation also will convince you that a Christian car-
ries with him, along the whole progress of his earthly
journey, the same characteristics, the same peculiari-
ties, the same nature he had previous to his conver-
sion ; and though it is now hated and held down, ever
and anon it rises into view, and, when faith falters,
extorts the cry, " O wretched man that I am ! who
shall deliver me from the body of this death ? " ' If
it is the fact that the old nature of the Christian must
undergo this gradual and progressive change for the
better, it is unaccountable that the most abandoned
sinners, like the dying thief, sometimes pass in an hour
from the lowest depths of iniquity into the paradise of
God ; and that the most devoted saints, like David,
are guilty of fearful falls that leave a dark stain on
the record of their lives ; since, according to the theory
that the old nature ceases to be what it was, there
should not be found in it any power to lust, or to plan
a murder, or to commit any other heinous sin. It is
astonishing, therefore, that so many excellent ministers
of the Gospel persist in speaking of regeneration as a
* Rom. vii. 24.

128 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

change wrought in the old nature until it reaches per-
fection at the moment of death, when their views are
not only directly in the face of the Scriptures, but
flatly contradicted by the experience and observation
of their hearers.

The preachers of a former age, when a sounder
theology prevailed, spoke far otherwise, as did Ealph
Erskine, who was in the habit of calling the Christian
" half devil and half saint ; " and as did Stillingfleet,
bishop of Worcester, England, in the seventeenth cen-
tury, who wrote, " In an unconverted person there is
but one nature ; in a real Christian there are two
natures ; the one is called the flesh ; the other the
Spirit." This I think expresses the precise difference
between the unbeliever and the believer ; the former
has but one nature, while the latter has two natures ;
but of course I do not mean to say he has two souls.
The second man, the Lord from heaven, has two
natures in one person, dwelling together without ad-
mixture, change, or confusion, yet He has but one soul.
"Webster defines the word nature as '' the essence, es-
sential qualities, or attributes of a thing, which con-
stitute it what it is ; " and I affirm that " the essence,
essential qualities, or attributes " which belong to man
when he is born into the world continue with him un-
changed to the end ; and that when he is born again
another thing is communicated to him, " the essence,
essential qualities, or attributes " of which link him to
God and constitute him truly a child of God. Of the
one nature it is written, " he that committeth sin is
of the devil ; for the devil sinneth from the begin-

NO HOPE rOR TnE SINNEE IN THE LAW 129

ning." * Of the other nature it is written, " Whoso-
ever is born of God doth not commit sin ; for his seed
remaineth in him ; and he cannot sin, because he is
born of God." ^ Of the one it is written, " The old
man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful
lusts." ^ Of the other it is written, " The new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true
holiness." ^ Of one it is written, " They are of the
world : therefore speak they of the world, and the
world heareth them." ^ Of the other it is written,
" Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world." ^
The sharp and unchanged contrast between the two
natures as presented in the Bible might be continued
at great length, but enough, probably, has been said
to convince you that if you are looking for the gradual
sanctification of the old nature, instead of trusting in
the accomplished sacrifice of Christ, you will be woe-
fully disappointed. You will find that the old nature
remains the old nature in spite of all your struggles
and tears and vows. *' No man putteth a piece of new
cloth into an old garment ; for that which is put in to
fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made
worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles :
else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and
the bottles perish : but they put new wine into new
bottles, and both are preserved." ^ If men are not
guilty of the folly described here by the Saviour,
neither is the Lord ; for He just casts aside the old

1 1 John iii. 8. ' 1 John iii. 9. ' Eph. iv. 22.

* Eph. iv. 24. * 1 John iv. 5. « 1 John v. 4.

' Matt. ix. 16, 17.

130 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

garment, the old bottles, the old nature, as condemned
and worthless, and gives unto us '' exceeding great and
precious promises: that by these ye might be par-
takers of the divine nature," ' and " in Christ a new
creation." It is all in Christ, for " they that are
Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affection and
lusts." ^ " Knowing this, that our old man is [was]
crucified with him." ^ "I am [have been] crucified
with Christ." ^ The scene of this crucifixion is not in
ourselves — as so many imagine, to their own perpetual
discomfort and sorrow — but it was on Calvary, for
w^hen Christ w^as crucified the believer was crucified ;
when Christ died the believer died ; when Christ was
buried the believer was buried ; when Christ was
quickened the believer was quickened ; when Christ
arose the believer arose ; when Christ was seated in
the heavenly places the believer was seated together
wath Him, forever past condemnation, and judgment,
and death, and standing in the light and glory of the
new creation, an heir of God and joint-heir with Christ,
saved now and saved forever.

This will come up again more fully hereafter, but
for the present I ask you to consider that if you were
perfectly obedient to the law in your outward life, and
if you were the most prominent member of what is
called by various denominations the only true Church,
you would require something else as long as the old
nature remains the old nature, and as long as it is true
that " ye must be born again." The worst need noth-

» 2 Pet. i. 4. » Gal. v. 24.

' Rom. vi. 6. « Gal. ii. 20.

NO HOPE FOR THE SINNER IN THE LAW l31

ing more than this, but the best can do with nothing
less. Thanks to God, there is nothing, nothing what-
ever, between the worst of sinners and the gracious
Saviour, as I shall now proceed to show.

CHAPTER XI

NOTHING BETWEEN THE SINKER AND THE
SAVIOUR

"But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say
not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven ? (that is, to bring
Christ down from above.) Or, Who shall descend into the deep?
(that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But whatsaith it?
The word is nigh unto thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart :
that is, the word of faith, which we preach," — Romans x. 6-8.

THE law was given by Moses, but grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ." ^ The law says, Do and
be saved ; grace says, Believe and be saved. The law
says, Do and live ; grace says, Live and do. The law
says, " The soul that sinneth, it shall die ; " ^ grace says,
" Deliver hhn from going down to the pit : I have
found a ransom." ^ The law says, " If a man have a
stubborn and rebellious son, w^hich will not obey the
voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and
that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken
unto them : then shall his father and his mother lay
hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his
city, and unto the gate of his place ; and they shall
say unto the elders of his city. This our son is stub-
born and rebellious ; he will not obey our voice ; he
is a glutton and a drunkard. And all the men of his
city shall stone him with stones that he die : so shalt

* John i. 17. ^ Ezek. xviii. 4. ^ Job xxxiii. 24.

132

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SINNER 133

thou put away evil from among you ; and all Israel
shall hear, and fear." ' Grace says, concerning the
wretched prodigal, although " stubborn and rebel-
lious," a " glutton and a drunkard," that " when he
was yet a great way off his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed
him." ^ The law says, " Lay hold on him ; " grace
says, " Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him." ^
The law says, " Stone him ; " grace says, " Put a ring
on his hand, and shoes on his feet." ^ The law says,
" Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things
which are written in the book of the law to do
them;"^ grace, speaking only of believers, says,
" Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,
being made a curse for us." °

This shows us precisely how we are delivered from
the curse of the law, for it is said, " Christ hath re-
deemed us, being made a curse for us." He was
" made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive
the adoption of ^sons." ^ The law, therefore, has not
been set aside, but satisfied. It has not been
trampled under foot, but it has triumphed in the in-
fliction of the threatened penalty against sin ; only
the penalty has, in amazing grace, fallen upon the
person of the sinner's Divine Substitute. The word
penalty is defined by "Worcester as "punishment,
whether in property or in person, imposed by law or

' Dent. xxi. 18-21. 2 \,xxV% xv. 20. ' Luke xv. 22.

4 Luke XV. 22. « Gal. iii. 10. « Gal. iii. 13.

' Gal. iv. 4, 5.

134: THE WAY MADE PLAIN

by judicial decision." Webster sa3^s it means, " The
suffering in person or property which is annexed by
law or judicial decision to the commission of a crime,
oifence, or trespass, as a punishment." "When I affirm,
then, that the threatened penalty of God's law against
sin fell upon Christ, I wish to be understood as as-
serting that He endured precisely the kind and degree
of suffering or punishment which the law demanded
on account of sin, as necessary to procure the complete
deliverance and entire redemption of all who believe
on Him. He endured the penalty in the fullest and
truest sense, because penalty is what the law exacts in
order to vindicate its insulted majesty and meet its
righteous claims, and this is what Christ did when
He suffered on the cross.

If a man were put in prison for debt, and a friend
should pay the full amount to the creditor, it would
be impossible in strict justice to retain the debtor in
confinement, because the law would be satisfied —
not by anything the prisoner could do, but by what
his friend does as his representative and in his place.
His farther detention in prison after the discharge of
the debt would be grossly illegal and tyrannical. If
a monarch should condemn one of his subjects to death
for treason, and then permit his own son to suffer in-
stead of the insurgent, it would be impossible in strict
justice to execute the threatened sentence upon the per-
son of the traitor. His death under such circum-
stances would shake the very foundations of the gov-
ernment and destroy all confidence in the integrity of
the ruler. A Christian teacher states in a recent peri-

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SINNER 135

odical that there were two pupils in his school who
were warmly attached to each other, and yet totally
unlike in disposition and deportment. One was a model
scholar, obedient, prompt, and perfect in his lessons
and conduct, while the other had attained a bad dis-
tinction by his indolence and waywardness. On a cer-
tain occasion he was about to inflict punishment upon
the unruly boy for some misdemeanor, when the good
boy stepped forward and said in substance, " I know
he deserves punishment, and your authority must be
maintained and the rules of the school enforced, but
please punish me in his stead, for it will answer the
same purpose as if you punished him, and I cannot bear
to see him suffer," The teacher, wishing to illustrate
the great central truth of the Bible setting forth Christ
as the Substitute for His people, bearing their sins,
complied with the request ; and then calling back the
astonished and weeping scholar whose offence had de-
manded the infliction of the penalty, and whose heart
seemed to be deeply touched by the generous self-
sacrifice of his friend, he told him that he must endure
the punishment in his own person. At once, it is said,
every hand was lifted and every voice in the room
was raised in indignant protest, the scholars together
exclaiming, " Oh, no ! that would not be just to the
noble boy who has borne the punishment, and for his
sake not a stroke can fall upon the bad boy."

These illustrations come far short of presenting
fully the work of Christ in our behalf, because in the
cases of the debtor and the traitor and the disobedient
pupil there was a mere escape from punishment, with-

136 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

out peace of conscience, without refuge from fears of
the future, without restoration to their good standing,
while, as we have akeady seen, " Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to every one that belie veth."
But they serve at least to clear the point we are now
considering, that Christ having been " made a curse
for us," it is impossible for God, w^ho is " faithful and
just," to inflict the penalty of His satisfied law upon
those in whose stead it has once been endured by His
only-begotten and well-beloved Son. '' For when we
were yet without strength, in due time Christ died
for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man
will one die : yet peradventure for a good man some
would even dare to die. But God commendeth his
love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us." * If the phrase, to die for a
righteous man and for a good man, means to die in
the place, room, and stead of a righteous or good man
so as to keep him from dying, then, beyond question,
the distinct statement of the Holy Ghost declaring
that Christ died for the ungodly and for us means
that He died in the i^lace, room, and stead of the un-
godly, and the " us " who are believers. The stu-
pendous difficulty in the way of the sinner's salvation
was the claim of God's violated law, demanding by
all the perfections of the Divine Being, and by all the
necessities of His government, that sin should be pun-
ished ; but when Jehovah (or Jahveh, the coming
One), of whom the prophets sung, " He will magnify
the law and make it honorable," ^ descended from the

iKom. V. 6-8. «Isa. xlii. 21.

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SINNER 137

throne of universal sovereignty, and slirouded His
divinity in human flesh, and bowed His head in the
shameful death of the cross, the law has no further
claim upon behevers for whom this death was en-
dured, but, sheathing its flaming sword, it joins with
mercy in the sweet invitation, '' Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no
money ; come ye, buy, and eat ; yea, come, buy wine
and milk without money and without price." *

It is most important in the present discussion to
keep in mind that the sacrificial death of Christ has
already been endured, and His atoning work abeady
accomplished. " He was wounded for our transgres-
sions, he was bruised for our iniquities : the chastise-
ment of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes
we are healed. Ail we like sheep have gone astray :
we have turned every one to his own way ; and the
Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."'
*' Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised
again for our justification." ^ " Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures." ^ God " hath made
him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ; that we might
be made the righteousness of God in him." ^ He
" gave himself for our sins." ^ " Christ also loved the
church, and gave himself for it."^ He "became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." ^
" Ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and
true God ; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom

^ Isa. Iv. 1. 2 Isa. liii. 5, 6. » Rom. iv. 25.

*1 Cor. XV. 3. "2 Cor. v. 21. «Gal. i. 4.

•» Epb. V. 25. « Phil. ii. 8.

138 THE WAY MADE PLAIN"

he raised from the dead, even Jesas, which delivered
us from the wrath to come." ' '' Isow once in the end
of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself."^ "Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many." ^ " Who his own self bare our
sins in his own body on the tree." ^ " Christ also
hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God."^ " Christ hath suf-
fered for us in the flesh." ^

You wiU observe that in these texts not only is the
death of Christ directly connected with our sins, and
described as vicarious, or endured in our stead, and
represented as furnishing the only ground upon which
we can be saved, but the past tense is used in every
passage, to indicate that the great transaction has al-
ready taken place. More than eighteen hundred years
ago our redemption was accomplished, and by the
power of faith even the Old Testament saints regarded
it as achieved in their day, because their impressive
types daily proclaimed '' the precious blood of Christ,
as of a lamb without blemish and without spot : who
verily was foreordained before the foundation of the
world." ^ The Saviour in His adorable love and pity
did not wait for man to seek Him, but came unasked
to our lost world and undeserving race. He did not
come that God might love us, but because God did
love us, and love us while we were " ungodly," and
" sinners," and " enemies," and so love us that He

^ 1 Thess. i. 9, 10. » Heb. ix. 26. » Heb. ix. 28.

* 1 Pet. ii. 24. ' 1 Pet. iii. 18. * 1 Pet. iv. 1.

' 1 Pet. i. 19, 20.

THE SAVIOUR NEAE THE SINNER 139

gave His only begotten Son to take our place under
His dishonored law, and endure its dreadful penalty
in our stead. The Father, as representing the un-
sullied holiness of the Divine nature, and the invio-
lable majesty of the Divine law, and the unspeakable
interests of the Divine government, met the Son at
Calvary bearing upon Him the mighty load of our
iniquities ; and there, amidst bursting tombs, and
rending rocks, and earthquake shocks, and the inde-
scribable sufferings of the cross that extorted the fear-
ful cry, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me ? " ' the question of sin and salvation was once and
forever settled.

Since that event occurred, and even since it was
announced in the first promise made to our fallen
parents concerning the seed of the woman, and in the
first type of the coats of skins with which God's own
hand clothed them, no other atonement has been
demanded, no other sacrifice has been possible, no
other righteousness has been accepted; but the
gracious Redeemer says in His blessed word, " I bring
near my righteousness ; it shall not be far off, and my
salvation shall not tarry." ^ When the dying Jesus
said, " It is finished," ^ and bowed His head and gave
up the ghost, He joyfully announced that all His
sacrificial sufferings were past ; that all the types
of the law were answered ; that all its rites were
abolished ; that all its claims were met ; that all
its demands were satisfied ; that all its purposes were
secured ; that all its threatenings against His cov-

*Matt. xxvii. 46. ^ Isa. xlvi. 13. ^John xix. 30.

140 THE WAY MADE PLAI]^

enanted people were silenced ; that all its power to
injure them was ended; and that nothing more
remained to be done but for the whole world, if it
will, to rest upon i\ns, finished work with the calmness
of an unfaltering confidence and in the sure anticipa-
tion of eternal glory. There is nothing, then, and
there can be nothing in the nature of the case, between
the sinner and the Saviour — no, not so much as the
thickness of the thinnest tissue-paper or the most
delicate gold-leaf.

I know how common, alas ! it is for the anxious
soul to be put upon a course of presumptuous and
profitless doing in order to be saved ; as when urged
to enter into covenant with God to serve Him ; or to
draw up a form of solemn self-surrender and self-
dedication ; or to be confirmed ; or to be baptized ; or
to join the Church ; or to seek religion ; or to give the
heart unto the Lord as the means of inclining Him to
be gracious ; or to keep on praying until He will be
merciful and answer fervent and frequent supplica-
tions. My reader, be persuaded that such advice is
not the Gospel, but the law, and you will never,
never, obtain an intelligent and assured hope in this
w^ay. Under this law-preaching, as I do not hesitate
to denounce the instructions too frequently given in
the pulpit and in books intended for inquirers, it has
come to pass that nearly every one who is awakened
to consider the interests of eternity thinks of the
blessed God as an unfeeling Governor whose com-
pliance with a request is to be won by the force of
importunity ; or as a stern judge whose favor is to be

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SINNER 141

gained by eloquent appeals and tearful entreaties ; or
as a fickle and foolish father who is at length over-
come by the persistent pleadings of a child to give
what he is not disposed to grant.

Hence, we seldom find sinners coming at once to
Christ after conviction, and, through an immediate
and unquestioning faith in the testimony of His word,
so promptly receiving a full and finished salvation as
to understand the meaning of the Bible when it says,
" We which have believed do enter into rest," ' and
"rejoice evermore."^ JSTot only days, but generally
weeks or months, and sometimes years, pass away
while they are trying to be fit and to be good enough
to come ; and then, after making a profession of
religion, as they very properly call it, their whole
subsequent life is apt to pass away in uncertain hopes
and vague, unsatisfying conceptions of the entire
subject. They imagine that to attain salvation they
must climb as it were some steep and laborious ascent
or plunge into some profound abyss, not remembering
that " the righteousness which is of faith," which is
received through faith, which is the result of faith,
which is ours by faith, " speaketh on this wise. Say
not in thine heart, "Who shall ascend into heaven ?
(that is, to bring Christ down from above). Or, Who
shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up
Christ again from the dead). But what saith it ?
The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy
heart : that is, the word of faith, which we preach."
Oh, if the inquirer who reads these lines only
iHeb. iv. 3. 2 1 Tbess, v. 16,

14:2 THE WAY MADE PLAIl^

knew how nigh salvation is to him this very moment,
surely he w^ould eagerly lay hold of it without the
slightest delay. Nay, he does not have to lay hold of
it ; he has just to receive it in all its completeness. It
is nigher to you, my friend, than the door, than any
article of furniture in the room where you are sitting,
than any object within your reach, for it is as nigh as
3^our mouth and your heart. You are not asked to
stir from your seat, to lift your finger, to move an
eyelash, to wait a single second, but now, just now,
and just as you are, to believe, and to enter straight-
way into everlasting life. There is no need to plead
with God to be merciful, for He is already merciful,
and has given the most convincing exhibition of His
mercy in the wonderful provisions He has made for your
recovery from the dominion and ruinous consequences
of sin. There is no need to beseech Him to love you,
for He already loves you, and has furnished the most
touching manifestation of that love of which the mind
of man or of an angel can conceive. " Some years
ago two gentlemen were riding together, and as they
were about to separate, one addressed the other thus :

* Do you ever read your Bible ? ' ^ Yes ; but I get no
benefit from it, because, to tell you the truth, I feel I
do not love God.' * No more did I,' replied the other,

* but God loved me.' This answer produced such an
effect upon his friend that, to use his own words, it
was as if one had lifted him off the saddle into
the skies. It opened up to his soul at once the great
truth that it is not how much I love God, but how
much God loves me."

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SIT^NER 143

This is indeed the great truth, " for God so loved
the world [the guilty, sinful, ruined world] that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." '
" In this was manifested the love of God toward us,
because that God sent his only begotten Son into the
world, that we might live through him. Herein is
love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and
sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."^
" We love him, because he first loved us ; " ^ and if
you attempt to reverse this Divine order so as to love
Him first that He may love you in return, you will
soon be involved in hopeless confusion and darkness.
The devil would like to persuade you that God can-
not love you as you are, and hence he is constantly
suggesting to parents to tell their little children that
God will not love them if they are naughty, but " he
is a liar, and the father of it." ^ And when he
whispers to your soul that you must do something, or
get to be something, different from what you now
are before God can love you, he is whispering a lie ;
for God loves you at this very instant, and sees you
afar off, and yearns over you with unutterable tender-
ness, and longs to take you to His heart of love and
make you happy forever.

* John iii. 16. '1 John iv. 9, 10.

' 1 John iv. 19. * John viii. 44.

CHAPTEE XII

KOTHING BETWEEN THE SINNEE AND THE
SAVIOUE

WHO, then, puts the slightest barrier between the
sinner and the Saviour ? Not the Saviour
Himself, for His language is, " Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me : " ' but you
will observe that He does not bid us take His yoke
until we first come, laboring and heavy laden with our
sins or sorrows, nor does He expect us to learn until
He first gives us rest. You will find upon examina-
tion that this is the order always laid down in the
word of God. Salvation is first bestowed as a free
gift, and then service follows ; privilege is first granted,
and then responsibility ensues ; relationship with God
as our Father is first established by grace, and then
the aff'ections of children are expected ; our standing
in Christ is first secured through faith in His blood,
and then obligation is imposed. There is no telling
the amount of evil that has followed man's attempt
to reverse this order, and I beg you to remember that
as a sinner you have nothing, nothing, to do but to
come to Christ as you are ; by which I mean, you have
nothing to do but to believe, upon the sure testimony

» Matt. xi. 28, 29.
144

THE SAVIOUR NEAK THE SINNER 145

of God's word, that He is able and willing to save
your soul, and to save it without delay. " In the last
day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and
drink." ' In the eagerness of His desire to save. He
arose from the sitting posture usual with Jewish
teachers, and stood, that His voice might ring like a
trumpet above the crowd, crying, ^' If any man thirst,
let him come unto me " — come, thirsty and needy, and
not because he has done something to quench his
thirst and satisfy his need.

Let not conscience make you linger,

Nor of fitness fondly dream j
All the fitness He requireth

Is to feel your need of Him ;
This He gives you —

'Tis the Spirit's rising beam.''

There is a question just here I wish you to consider,
and it is this : Are there many ways by which men
are saved, or is there only one way ? I know, if you
accept the Scriptures as inspired, that you will
reply. There is only one way ; for it is written,
"He that believeth on the Son [no matter who
he is] hath everlasting life : and he that believeth
not the Son [no matter who he is] shall not see
life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him." ^
" Neither is there salvation in any other ; for there is
none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved." ^ This, then, prepares

» John vii. 37. * j^jj^ ^^^ ^6, ' Acts iv. 12.

146 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

the way for another question : How was the dying
thief saved ? There are many who, in answering this
question, seem to take it for granted that he was a
better thief than the other, who was not saved, but
not so does the word of God speak of him. Matthew
informs us that " the thieves also [that is, both of
them], which were crucified with him, cast the same
in his teeth." ' Mark says, " They [that is, both of
them] that were crucified with him reviled him." ^
The fact is, when he was nailed to the cross he joined
his guilty companion and the brutal crowd in heap-
ing insults and reproaches upon the dying Saviour ;
but God determined to show what His grace can do,
and hence flashed into his ruined soul conviction of
sin which was the " Spmt's rising beam." Then fol-
lows the humble confession of guilt, and the sublime
testimony concerning Jesus, that " this man hath done
nothing amiss." ^ I call it sublime testimony, because
it was delivered in the face of a scoffing world that
had united to condemn and crucify the Son of God.
The Jews spurned His claims as the Messiah ; the
Romans scourged Him as a seditious fanatic or im-
postor ; and the confidence of His own disciples re-
ceived a staggering blow when they saw Him dragged
like a common felon through the streets and suspended
upon the instrument of shame and torture.

Truly there was little appearance of royalty about
that thorn-crowned brow, and that bleeding back
mangled by the cruel lash, and those hands and feet
pierced with nails; but the poor thief had faith to

' Matt, xxvii. 44. ' ]\Iark xv. 32. ' Luke xxiii. 41.

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SINNER 147

say, '"■ Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy
kingdom." ^ He had no time to get better ; he had
no time to make hunself fit to come to Christ ; he had
no time to observe rites and ordinances ; but he had
time to helieve that the meek Sufferer at his side was
what He clauned to be, and to trust in Him for some
humble place in the kingdom which he helieved that
Sufferer would in due time establish on the earth,
according to the Scriptures. These Scriptures say,
" Whosoever belie veth that Jesus is the Christ is born
of God ; " ^ and this is what the dying thief did, and
it is all he did, when forth came the sweet assurance
from the pallid lips of the Saviour mighty to save in
death and through death, " Yerily, I say unto thee,
To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise ; " ^ and a
few hours later the ransomed sinner went his way, the
first glad herald from earth to announce to the rejoic-
ing multitude on high that the work of redemption
was finished. And now, if it be true that there is only
one way of salvation, and therefore that all men are
to be saved the same way the thief was saved, what
should be done with the preaching that puts the small-
est obstacle, though it be nothing more than a straw,
between the sinner and the Saviour ? Why, toss it
overboard as an accursed thing, and make haste to
believe, because God has said it, that " the blood of
Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." ^

But let us glance at the testimony of the apostles who
received from their Master the great commission, " Go

^ Luke xxiii. 42. ' 1 John v. 1.

3 Luke xxiii. 43. ^ 1 John i. 7.

148 THE WAY MADE PLAI^

ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature;" ^ or, in other words, Preach the good news,
the glad tidings of the boundless love of God and the
finished work of Christ. We learn that on the day of
Pentecost the Holy Ghost came down in Avitness of our
Lord's ascension to the right hand of the Father, and
wonderful results followed His manifested presence
among the disciples. There were at that time in Jerusa-
lem " Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwell-
ers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in
Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt,
and in the parts of Lybia about Cyrene, and strangers
of Eome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians." ^
To this mixed multitude, together with many of the
inhabitants of the city, Peter and the rest of the apos-
tles proclaimed Jesus and the resurrection. " Then
they that gladly received his word were baptized : and
the same day there were added unto them about three
thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in
the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking
of bread, and in prayers. . . . And they, con-
tinuing daily with one accord in the temple, and
breaking bread from house to house, did eat their
meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising
God, and having favor with all the people. And the
Lord added to the Church daily such as should be
saved." ^ There was no delay here; no waiting to
get better ; no striving to be fit to come ; no probing
into their hearts to test their feelings, whether they
had repented enough, and whether they loved God

' Mark xvi. 15. « Acts ii. 9-11. ^ ^^j^g ^^ 41 42 45 47,

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SI:>T:N^ER 149

enough, and whether they believed aright, but im-
mediately upon receiving the word as true, the same
day there were added to the Church about three
thousand rejoicing converts.

We look a little farther, and find that " a man of
Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace,
queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her
treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
was returning, and sitting in the chariot, read Esaias
the prophet." ' He was an anxious inquirer, as we say
in these days, for, having become utterly dissatisfied
with heathenism, he had gone to the city of David to
bow before the true God, and was still diligently
seeking the way of life. Philip, one of the seven
deacons elected by the Church to look after the poor,
was commanded by the Holy Ghost to join himself to
the chariot of the officer. Having promptly obeyed
the direction, although it took him from great crowds
that attended his ministry in Samaria, to preach to a
single sinner, he asked him whether he understood
what he was reading. " How can I," was the reply,
" except some man should guide me ? And he desired
Philip that he would come up and sit with him." The
place he was reading was the fifty-third chapter of
Isaiah, which so clearly and beautifully sets forth the
atoning work of Christ for the certain and com-
plete salvation of His people, and " Philip opened his
mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached
unto him Jesus." Having shown that the prophet
predicted the death of Him Avho was crucified between

^ Acts viii. 27, 28.

150 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

two thieves, he may have dwelt a little upon the sixth
verse of that remarkable chapter which has brought
relief to many troubled souls. He may have slowly
read the first clause, " All we like sheep have gone
astray," and fixing the attention of his interested
hearer, pointedly asked, *' Do you believe that ? "
" Oh, yes," would be the reply ; " that describes my
condition precisely, for like a silly sheep I have wan-
dered from the path of duty and of safety." He may
then have read the second clause, " We have turned
every one to his own way," and asked, " Do you be-
lieve that ? " " Indeed I do," would be the answer,
" for I have followed the counsels of my oAvn heart
and trusted in my own righteousness." He may then
have read the last clause, " And the Lord hath laid on
Him the iniquity of us all," and solemnly said, " Do
you believe that f You believe you have gone astray
like a lost sheep ; you believe you have turned to your
own way ; and now do you believe, because God hath
said it, that He has laid your iniquities upon Christ
the Sin-bearer ? If so, they cannot be upon you, and
therefore you are a saved man." At all events, how-
ever Philip may have talked to him, he replied, " I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God," and was
immediately baptized, and " went on his way rejoic-
ing." * Just so soon as Jesus was preached he received
the testimony concerning Him as true, and hence
pursued his journey filled with peace and gladness,
because his thoughts were not occupied about himself,
but about Christ and His finished work.

* Acts viii. 39.

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SIISTITER 151

Once more, T\^e are told that Paul and Silas were
preaching in the city of Philippi, where a great up-
roar occurred as the result of a miracle wrought on
" a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divina-
tion." The preachers were seized, dragged before the
magistrates, savagely beaten, and committed to prison,
with a command to the jailer to keep them safely ;
" who, having received such a charge, thrust them
into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the
stocks." But the hand of violence could not touch
the resurrection life they had received from the
Saviour, nor could the stroke of suffering mar its hap-
piness ; and therefore at midnight they " prayed, and
sang praises unto God : and the prisoners heard
them." He who had sent them to Europe determined
to plant the banner of the cross on this new continent,
whether men would hear or forbear, " and suddenly
there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations
of the prison were shaken ; and immediately all the
doors were opened, and every one's bands were
loosed." The jailer, awakened by the tumult, natu-
rally inferred that the prisoners had fled, and, knowing
that he would be held accountable for their escape,
was on the point of committing suicide, when Paul
arrested his uplifted hand by calling with a loud voice,
" Do thyself no harm ; for we are all here." Then
conviction seems to have fastened on the man's con-
science, and he was persuaded by the extraordinary
events he had witnessed that the poor girl had uncon-
sciously uttered the truth when she followed Paul
and his companions for many days through the streets,

152 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

crying, " These men are the servants of the most high
God, which show unto us the way of salvation." Ac-
cordingly, " he called for a light, and sprang in, and
came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,
and brought them out, and said. Sirs, what must I do
to be saved ? " This is a very earnest, but very plain
and simple, question, and the answer is equally plain
and simple. Do f Why do you ask about doing ?
You must do nothing but " believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." As
he was an ignorant heathen who probably had never
heard before of Jesus Christ, of course he needed in-
struction ; " and they spake unto him the word of the
Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took
them the same hour of the night, and washed their
stripes ; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
And when he had brought them into his house, he set
meat before them, and rejoiced, beheving in God with
all his house." '

In considering these examples of instantaneous con-
version it is useless to reply that the times have
changed since Christ and the apostles preached. It is
true the times have changed, but the word of God has
not changed, and man's need has not changed, and
human nature has not changed, and the way of salva-
tion has not changed. It is true that most of the con-
versions in our day occur only at the close of a pro-
tracted period of darkness, and effort, and pra^^er, and
reading, and reflection, and repentance ; but this only
goes to show how far we have departed from the sim-

^ Acts xvi. 32-34.

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SINNER 153

plicity and blessedness of the Gospel as at first pro-
claimed, when the disciples went abroad telling the
good news of Christ's death on the cross for sinners,
and as many as believed the glad tidings to be true,
and true for themselves, straightway entered into life.
If a friend of undoubted veracity were to enter your
house or meet you on the street and tell you good
news that greatly concerned your welfare, how long
a time must elapse before you would believe him ?
A day, a week, a month, a year ? Would you say to
him, " I wish I could beheve you ; I am trying to be-
lieve you ; I must wait until I feel that I believe you ;
I cannot realize that what you tell me is true ; " or
would you just believe him and rejoice ? " Where-
fore as the Holy Ghost saith, To-day if ye will hear
his voice, harden not your hearts ; " ' and the way to
harden the heart, as we learn from the chapter in
which this text is found, is to continue in unbelief.
*' Behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is
the day of salvation," ^ and the noxo refers not only to
the gospel age as distinguished from the dispensation
of the law, but to this passing moment.

The way some men set forth what they call the
Gospel would require their hearers to spend about four
years in college and three years in a theological sem-
inary in order to be saved, and even then they could
not be certain of their salvation. But God the Father
says, " Now ! " and God the Son says, " Now ! " and
God the Spirit says, " Now ! " and the Bible says,
" Now ! " and the very depths of the sinner's guilty

* Heb. iii. 7, 8. » 2 Cor. vi. 2.

154 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

and ruined nature echo the cry, " JSTow." If he stays
away from Christ trying to do something until he is
as old as Methuselah, could such a thing be, at the
close of nine hundred and sixty-nine years he will not
be a step nor a hair's breadth nearer salvation than
he was the moment of conviction ; and on the other
hand, the moment he is in Christ by believing on Him
he is as certainly and completely saved as he will
be a thousand years afterward. If the dying thief,
after receiving from the dying Saviour the assurance
of salvation, had been permitted to descend to the
earth and to remain among men preaching and pray-
ing for a hundred years, at the end of this time he
would not have been more certainly and completely
saved than he was when hanging on the cross, nor
would he have had any other ground of comfort than
he had then, even the sure word of the Son of God.
The certainty of salvation, therefore, cannot be in-
creased by delay, but while the sinner is delaying,
suppose he should die ; what then ? He has not the
slightest assurance that he will live an hour longer,
and hence God does not deal with him on the ground
that he has years to study and struggle before he is
saved, but says, in all the urgency of His love, *' Ho^o,
NOW, XOW ! "

Inquirers meet with obstacles in trying to find
peace simply because they persist in thinking of them-
selves instead of directing their thoughts to Christ,
and to the object of His mission to earth, and to His
finished work. They complain that they are not
good enough to come. Xo, and they never will be in

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SINNER 155

themselves : but they forget that Jesus has said, " I
am not come to call the righteous, but simiers to
repentance." ' " The Son of man is come to seek and
to save that which was lost." ^ " This is a faithful
saying," says Paul, " and worthy of all acceptation,
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ;
of whom I am chief." ^ Who was Paul, and what
was he doing when Christ Jesus saved him ? He
himself tells us he was " a blasphemer, and a persecutor,
and injurious," ^ and " I verily thought with myself,"
he writes, " that I ought to do many things contrary
to the name of Jesus of ISTazareth. "Which thing I
also did in Jerusalem : and many of the saints did
I shut up in prison, having received authority from
the chief priests ; and when they were put to death,
I gave my voice against them. And I punished them
oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to
blaspheme ; and being exceedingly mad against them,
I persecuted them even unto strange cities." ^ Truly,
Paul did nothing to make himself fit or good enough
to come, but he was "a brand plucked out of the
fire," ^ just as every other sinner is ; for all of us are
far worse than we think ourselves to be even when
most deeply humbled under a sense of our guilt.

The fact is that out of Christ we have no worth or
worthiness at all, do what we may ; but m Christ the
vilest of the vile are infinitely worthy, for the}^ are
clothed with the righteousness of God. A wicked,
swearing teamster, who had been the terror of the

iMatt. ix. 13. 2 Luke xix. 10. n Tim. i. 15.

*1 Tim. i. 13. ^Acts xxvi. 9-11. «Zech. iii. 2.

156 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

neighborhood, was led by the Spirit to believe in
Jesus, and it was announced that he would openly
confess the Sa^dour before men and partake of the
Lord's Supper. Driving through a town where he
was well known, he was met by an old woman with
the question, " They tell me, Thomas, that you be
going to take the Sacrament on Sunday ; is it true
that you be ? " " By the grace of Christ my Saviour,"
he replied, " I expect to have the privilege of showing
His death with others who believe in Him, if that is
what you call taking the Sacrament." *'• But, Thomas,
do you think that you be worthy ? " said the old
woman. " I don't mean to reflect on ye, but you
know what kind of man you have been, and what
kind of life you have led, and do you think,
Thomas, that you be worthy ? " "As worthy as
any man in Coalford," was the reply, "for I am a
poor worthless sinner saved by the grace of God
through the precious blood of Christ. I trust in Him
alone." Such is ever the language of faith leading
the sinner to lose sight of self in the believing, adoring
contemplation of Christ, who so graciously and sweetly
says, " Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast
out." '

^' But I am a great sinner, say est thou?
I ivill in no wise cast out, says Christ.
But I am an old sinner, sayest thou?
I loill in no wise cast out, says Christ.
But I am a hard-hearted sinner, sayest thou?
I will in no wise cast outy says Christ.

iJohu vi. 37.

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SII^NER 157

I have served Satan all my days, sayest thou ?

I tcill in no wise cast out, says Christ.

But I have siuued against light, sayest thou?

I ivill in no ivise cast out, says Christ.

But I have sinned against mercy, sayest thou?

I ivill in no ivise cast out, says Christ.

I have no good thing to bring, sayest thou ?

I will in no ivise cast out, says Christ.'^

" But," says the sinner, " must I not be born again
before I can rejoice in hope of the glory of God ? "
I reply, You are born again the moment you believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ, as has been previously
shown. Faith is the first throb of life, so to speak, in
the new-created man, the first cry of the new-born
child. " Ye are all the children of God by faith in
Christ Jesus." ' •' As many as received him, to them
gave he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name." ^ " Whosoever be-
lieveth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God."^
" Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of in-
corruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and
abideth forever." ^ " Of his own will begat he us
with the word of truth." ^ These passages are suiS-
cient to show that the Holy Ghost uses the word of
God, or the word of truth, or the Gospel, to set forth
Christ in His Divine person and atoning work ; and
when we believe on Him as there revealed, we are
born again. We are not called upon to be worrying
ourselves about regeneration, nor to be looking for its
fruits, but to believe in Christ, knowing then, accord-

» Gal. iii. 26. « John i. 12. ^ i Jq^j^ ^^ j

* 1 Pet. i. 23. 5 James i. 18.

158 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

ing to His own teaching, that we are assuredly born
of water (the scriptiu-al symbol of the word) and of
the Spirit. Regeneration, therefore, does not stand
between the sinner and the Saviour ; for the new life
is imparted, the new nature is implanted, the new man
is formed, by the power of the Spirit through faith
in Jesus made known in the Gospel.

" But," says another, " must I not repent before
coming to Christ ? " If you mean as a condition upon
which God will be merciful, or as the means of win-
ning His favor, or as a preliminary work to lit you
to approach Him, I reply, most emphatically, No, you
must not. There are thousands who try to make a
Saviour out of their repentance, but this is contrary to
the Scriptures. True repentance, as described in the
Bible, always implies faith in Christ, and the tw^o
cannot be sq^arated. No man really repents unless
he believes in Jesus, and, on the other hand, no man
really believes in Jesus unless he repents, for repent-
ance is the tear which the believing sinner drops when
by faith he sees the Son of God extended on the cross.
The word in the Greek, however, which is translated
" repentance " in our English Bible, does not neces-
sarily imply emotion of any kind, but simply means
an " after- thought " or " after-mind," and hence " a
change of mind ; " but whether this change of mind is
accompanied with joy or sorrow depends wholly upon
the cause or occasion which gives rise to it. About
what, then, is the sinner called to change his mind ?
Obviously, about God and His character, for he has had
wrong thoughts of the Almighty all his life ; and hence

THE SAVIOUE NEAP. THE SINNER 159

it is written, " Let the wicked forsake his way, and
the unrighteous man his thoughts." ' But surely he
can never change his mind about his Creator until he
sees " God in Christ " hating sin and yet putting sin
away, judging evil and yet forgiving the evil-doer.
Unless, then, by faith you behold the atoning sacrifice
on the cross, it is impossible to repent, for it is said,
" The goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." ^
It is not thy badness, but God's goodness^ that leadeth
thee to repentance, and until you believe in that good-
ness as manifested in the gift of His well-beloved Son,
you might as soon expect to obtain light by looking at
darkness, or to receive life by looking at a corpse, as
to repent by working at your poor, dead soul. Re-
pentance, therefore, does not stand between the sinner
and the Saviour, but it always accompanies and flows
from faith in Christ ; for, as you at once observe, if
you must be occupied with repentance before believing,
it is incumbent on those who tell you to repent as a
preliminary step that must be taken in order to reach
salvation also to inform you how much you must re-
pent, and for what length of time.

" But," says another, " must I not be baptized before
I can rest in the assurance that I am saved ? " Again
I reply, l^o ; not that I would undervalue baptism in
its true place, but that I would keep it in its true place,
where the Word of God puts it, and from which it has
been wrested by the rude hand of legalism to " drown
men in destruction and perdition." There is not an in-
stance of Christian baptism in the New Testament un-

^ Isa. Iv. 7. 2 Eom. ii. 4.

160 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

less it was preceded by faith in Christ on the part of
the person baptized. I am not referring to infant
baptism, for it does not fall in with my purpose to
discuss that question ; but, among adults, only believers
in Jesus were baptized, and the common practice in
these days of seeking to make Christians by the use of
water in sprinkling, pouring, or immersion is utterly
subversive of the work of Christ and ruinous to the
souls of countless thousands. It is a fact in striking
contrast with the estimate placed upon baptism now
that the Saviour in all His wonderful discourses never
preached about it, and we know that " Jesus himself
baptized not." ' Not only so, but we find the Apostle
Paul saying, " I thank God that I baptized none of
you, but Crispus and Gains ; . . . and I baptized
also the house of Stephanas : besides, I know not whether
I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to bap-
tize, but to preach the gospel." ^ When we add to all
this that the dying thief was saved although he was
not baptized, and that in thirteen of the inspired Epis-
tles baptism is not once mentioned, and very seldom
in the others, it is apparent that man in his proud and
obdurate self-righteousness has sought to make a sim-
ple and significant ordinance an enemy of the cross of
Christ. No, sinner ! baptism does not stand between
you and the Saviour, but after belie^ang you will joy-
fully receive it, as Abraham received " the sign of cir-
cumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith
which he had yet being uncircumcised." ^

Nothing, indeed, nothing but your unbelief, stands
1 John iv. 2. ' 1 Cor. i. 14, 16, 17. ' Rom. iv. 11.

THE SAVIOUR NEAR THE SINNER 161

between you and an instant, complete salvation. You
do not need to go up to heaven for it, for that would
imply that Christ had not come down " to put away
sin by the sacrifice of himself ; " ^ nor are you required
to descend into the lower parts of the earth, for that
would imply that Christ was not delivered for our
offences and " raised again for justification ; " ^ but the
word is nigh thee, and so nigh that, without waitiug
an hour or a minute, without thinking of the past or
the future, without stopping to look into the exercises
of your mind, without tarrying to understand this
doctrine or that doctrine, without pausing at regener-
ation, or repentance, or baptism, or anything else, you
may immediately enter into life, eternal life, if you
truly believe that " Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures ; and that he was buried, and that he
rose again the third day according to the scriptures."^
What a glorious salvation, and what a precious
Saviour ! It is not by what we do, but by what He
has done, we are saved, and hence in answer to your
question, " What must I do ? " let the sweet hymn
answer :

*^ Nothing, either great or small,
NotbiDg, sinner, no !
Jesus did it, did it all,
Long, long ago.

" When He from His lofty throne
Stoop 'd to do and die,
Everything was fully done —
Hearken to His cry —

1 Heb. ix. 26. ^ rq^^ j^^ 25. ^ i q^j.^ ^v. 3, 4.

162 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

" ^ It IS FINISHED : ' yes, indeed —
rinish'd every jot.
Sinner, this is all you need ;
Tell me, is it not ?

<^ Weary, working, plodding one,
Wherefore toil you so ?
Cease your doing ; all was done
Long, loDg ago.

"Till to Jesus^ work you cling
By a simple faith,
^ Doing ' is a deadly thing —
'• Doing ' ends in death.

*' Cast your deadly ^ doing ' down —
Down at Jesus' feet ;
Stand IN Him, in Him alone,
Gloriously 'complete.'"

CHAPTEK XIII
BELIEF AND CONFESSIOI^

" That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and
shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto right-
eousness ; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." —
Romans x. 9, 10.

IT is said that soon after the execution of Mary,
Queen of Scots, a French lady who had been in her
service attempted to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of
England. Having been arrested while hanging about
the court, she boldly announced her name and design,
expressing regret that she had failed to accomplish her
purpose. She was brought into the presence of Eliza-
beth, who said to her, " What, think you, is my duty
upon the hearing of such a case ? " " Do you put the
question to me as a queen or a judge ? " asked the
prisoner. " As a queen," was the reply. " Then you
should grant me a pardon," she answered. " But,"
inquired the queen, '' what assurance can you give me
that you will not abuse my mercy and attempt my
life again ? Should I pardon, it should be based upon
conditions to be safe from your murderous revenge in
future." " Grace fettered by precautions — grace that
hath conditions — is no grace," exclaimed the woman ;
and history states that the remark so charmed Eliza-
beth that she immediately ordered her release, and

163

164: THE WAY MADE PLAIN

bound her to her royal person ever afterward by the
ties of fervent gratitude and devoted affection.

Whether this incident occurred precisely as here re-
lated may be called in question, but it admits of no
doubt that " grace fettered by precautions — grace that
hath conditions — is no grace." I am unwilling, there-
fore, to say that belief and confession are the condi-
tions of salvation, because the word condition in pop-
ular use implies generally something done by one per-
son or party on account of which another person or
party does something promised or stipulated. ISTow,
God has not promised or stipulated to give eternal life
to the sinner on account of his belief and confession,
but solely on account of the finished work of Christ.
Belief and confession are requisites, or they are abso-
lutely necessary, with those old enough to be respon-
sible, in order to enjoy eternal life, but they are not
conditions, for " grace fettered by precautions — grace
that hath conditions — is no grace." I wish to make
the impression upon your mind that the grace of God
in saving lost men is entirely unfettered — that it hath
no conditions ; but if belief and confession are pre-
sented as conditions upon which forgiveness is extended,
the inquiring soul is sure to be turned back to the law,
or works, or the principle of doing, to obtain peace.
Very often have I known anxious sinners to keep
themselves in darkness and distress because they
feared their faith was not of the right kind, and not
strong enough, as they express it, or because they
were solicitous to confess Christ in a proper form.

Thus do they unconsciously strive to find a Saviour,

BELIEF AND CONFESSIO]^ 165

not in Christ, but in their belief and confession ; and
owing to the deep-seated legalism of the human heart,
they pervert the very purpose of God in ordaining
salvation by faith. "Therefore, it is of faith," He
says, " that it might be by grace ; '" and again : " By
grace are ye saved through faith [not on account of
faith, but through faith] ; and that not of yourselves :
it is the gift of God : not of works, lest any man should
boast." ^ But if a man is saved on account of his be-
lief and confession, they obviously become works as
truly as his attempted obedience of the law, and they
will be regarded as works to be done when set forth
as conditions upon which God grants salvation. Hence
the desire, on the part of those who have been taught
to look upon them as conditions, to discover some
evidence of the genuineness and strength of their faith
in their good feelings and happy frame of mind, and
hence the mad search of thousands for a true Church
to furnish a refuge from the frown of incensed justice.
Satan, with his practiced cunning, succeeds in turning
away their attention from Christ to themselves ; and
thus, if he cannot destroy he keeps them uncertain in
their hopes, feeble in their spiritual growth, and " all
their lifetime subject to bondage," ^ instead of going
forth the emancipated and rejoicing children of light,
and of liberty, and of God.

I cannot consent, then, to speak of belief and con-
fession as conditions of salvation, but rather as the
means or channel through which salvation, devised in
grace, accomplished in grace, and bestowed in grace,

» Rom. iv. 16. « Eph. ii. 8, 9. ' Heb. ii. 15.

166 THE WAY MADE PLAIN"

is received by the sinner, who is dependent on the
Holy Spirit for every proper exercise of his mind, for
every right emotion of liis heart, and for every ac-
ceptable word of his mouth, from the first to the last
stage of his religious experience. His ability both to
believe and to confess Christ sincerely and truly is
due, as we are plainly taught in the Scriptures, to the
sovereign grace of God, and this ability is a Divine
gift, not a human work, " lest any man should boast."
It is the height of folly, therefore, for my reader to be
occupied about his faith in place of fixing his thoughts
upon Christ ; for, faith being a gift, he ought to know
at once that it is imparted in a manner worthy of the
glorious Giver, since " every good gift and every per-
fect gift is from above, and cometh down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning." ' " He that spared not his own
Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not
with him also freely give us all things ? " ^ and because
He gives us faith we should be perfectly satisfied that
it is amply sufficient to secure the end for which it is
conferred. He intends to have the whole glory of our
salvation, to the praise of His dear Son, through the
wonder-working power of His Spirit ; and consequently
the way of life revealed in His Gospel is precisely
suited to attain His object and precisely suited to our
need as guilty, helpless sinners. Blessed be His
name ! He proclaims Avith heavenly sweetness and
simplicity " that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that

^ Jiaues i. 17. ^ i^om. viii. 32.

BELIEF AND CONFESSION 167

God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved. For with the heart man believeth unto right-
eousness ; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation."

It is possible that some one may be perplexed by
the fact that in the first of these two verses confession
is mentioned before belief, and hence it is important
to observe that in the second verse belief is placed be-
fore confession ; and evidently, if confession is any-
thing more than the grossest hypocrisy or the merest
mockery, it is only the result or expression of the be-
lief already exercised. It must be apparent upon a
moment's reflection that we cannot honestly and in-
telligently confess Jesus to be our Lord until we first
believe in the heart that God has raised Him from
the dead. Confession, therefore, is mentioned before
belief in the former verse, just to mark the character
of genuine faith, and this having been done, the mode
of statement is changed in the latter verse, and the
natural order is given. Both are necessary, but they
are necessary for a very different reason. Belief is
necessary before we are saved, and confession is neces-
sary after we are saved. Confession sustains to belief
the same kind of relation which works do to faith, and
as the apostle argues, " What doth it profit, my breth-
ren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not
works ? can faith [that is, such faith, his saying he
hath faith] save him ? " ' So what does it profit, my
brethren, though a man say he believes in his heart
that God hath raised Christ from the dead, and yet

^ James ii. 14.

168 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

refuses to confess with the mouth the Lord Jesus ?
Can his saying he believes this save him while he gives
no outward manifestation of the reality of his belief ?
Confession, then, forms no part of the meritorious
cause or reason of our salvation, but it is equally true
that real belief will be sure to result or express itself
in confession. Lazarus was not made alive because
he came forth from the grave and appeared among
men, but he came forth and appeared because he was
made alive. Neither do we confess Christ with the
mouth that we may have life, but because through
faith we already have life. I^ay, I will go farther
and assert that where the belief is intelligent and sin-
cere it will manifest itself in confession as surely as
the healthful life of a child will manifest itself in
constant activity and joyous gambols. If a true be-
liever were cast on an uninhabited island, I think his
songs of praise would echo along the lonely shore and
the voice of his thanksgiving would daily break the
silence of nature. If he were dumb, the soul-stirring
belief that he " is passed from death unto life " and be-
come a ^' joint heir with Christ " would sparkle in his
eye, and give shape to his gestures, and regulate his
gait, and lead him by the powerful instincts of the
'' new man " to seek the society and fellowship of
those who like himself are " born again." Tell me,
if you will, of one who, having been rescued from
flame or flood by the heroic efforts of a friend, ever
after persistently refuses to recognize his deliverer, or
to take his proffered hand in an assembly, but do
not tell me that a sinner, saved from the fires of hell

BELIEF AN^D CONFESSION 169

and from the boundless sea of God's indignation and
wrath through the death of Jesus, can deliberately
decline to confess his Lord or to acknowledge his in-
debtedness for redeeming grace.

*^ Brightness of the Father's glory,

Shall Thy praise uuuttered lie ?
Fl}^, my tongue, such guilty silence ;

Sing the Lord who came to die.
Did the angels sing Thy coming ?

Did the shepherds learn their lays ?
Shame would cover me ungrateful.

Should my tongue refuse to praise."

The time has been when those who confessed Christ
*'had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea,
moreover, of bonds and imprisonment : they were
stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword ; they wandered about in sheep-
skins and goatskins ; being destitute, afflicted, tor-
mented (of whom the world was not worthy) ; they
wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens
and caves of the earth." ' "When this time again
comes, and the faithful witnesses for the truth shall
be slain, it will be no less the duty — no, I will not say
duty, but it will be no less the exalted privilege — of
the saints then on the earth to confess with the mouth
the Lord Jesus, because they believe in the heart that
God hath raised Him from the dead. Animated by
the sublime hopes of the Gospel, and rendered fearless
by the fervor of a personal affection for Christ, every
true believer will be ready to exclaim, " Come and

1 Heb. xi. 36-38.

170 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he
hath done for my soul." ' So it is now ; for wherever
a sincere, heartfelt belief exists, it always causes the
knee to bow at the name of Jesus and the tongue to
" confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father." ^ Levity may laugh and scepticism
sneer, false friends may entreat and foes assail, but
the soul linked to God in holy communion by faith in
the Son of His love will be lifted above the reach of
this poor world's temptations and threats, and look
down upon it in tender pity and with undisturbed
composure. It is enough for such a soul to hear the
Master say, " Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me
before men, him will I confess also before my Father
which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me
before men, him will I also deny before my Father
which is in heaven." ^ It is enough to read the solemn
declaration of the Holy Ghost recorded by the pen of
the inspired apostle : " Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he
in God."^ "Ye are my friends," says the Saviour,
" if ye do whatsoever I command you ; " ^ and know-
ing that He has commanded us to confess Him before
men, to be ba])tized in His name, and to eat the bread
and drink the cup at the Lord's Supper in remem-
brance of Him to show His death till He come, the
believer cannot hesitate to wear the badge of disciple-
ship — not, as I said before, that he may be saved, but
because he is saved.

»Ps. Ixvi. 16. 8 Phil. ii. 11. niatt. x. 32, 33.

* 1 John iv. 15. ^ JqIj^ ^v. 14.

BELIEF AND CONFESSION 171

But you will notice that confession is a personal
thing : "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus." It is not enough that you confess Jesus
to be Lord, or the Lord of others, but thy Lord, thus
acknowledging your individual obligation to Him, and
His Divine sovereignty and rightful authority over
you as redeemed by His blood and the object of His
love. Confession, then, is the necessary result and ex-
ternal evidence of your personal faith in Christ, who
came down from heaven to put away sin by the sacri-
fice of Himself, and is noAV exalted " far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion,
and every name that is named, not only in this world,
but also in that which is to come." * Hence it is writ-
ten, " No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by
the Holy Ghost ; " ^ for no man can say this intelli-
gently, and as the expression of his firm conviction,
until he believes in Jesus as his Divine and almighty
Saviour ; and no man can believe that the meek and
lowly " carpenter, the Son of Mary," was God manifest
in the flesh, until he is enlightened by the Holy Ghost.
" Hereby know ye the Spirit of God : Every Spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh
is of God : and every Spirit that confesseth not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God." ^

What is it, then, to " confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus " ? Let us suppose that you should say to
some friend entering your room while reading this
chapter, or to any number of persons assembled on
any occasion, "I sincerely confess that Jesus of

1 Eph. i. 21. 2 1 Cor. xii. 3. ^ ^ j^i^ i^^ 2, 3.

172 THE AVAY MADE PLAIN

Xazareth who was crucified between two thieves was
not what the world took Him to be, — an impious im-
postor or weak fanatic, — but that He was the Son of
God and the Saviour of men ; and I joyfully acknowl-
edge Him to be my Lord, entitled to my faith, and
worship, and obedience." This would surely be con-
fessing Him with the mouth, and this is so simple a
child can understand it. If a true Christian were in
your presence, or in the presence of " governors and
kings," or in the presence of the whole human race,
and a fitting opportunity should occur, he would gladly
speak of Jesus as Thomas did when he said to the
risen Saviour, " My Lord and my God," ' and he would
carefully avoid the fearful sin of Joseph of Arimathea,
who was " a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of
the Jews," ^ and who, in consequence of his unmanly
fear, did nothing worthy of a disciple until compelled,
after the Saviour's death, to confess Him in an imper-
fect manner by begging of Pilate the privilege of
burying the mangled body. There can be no diffi-
culty, then, in understanding what is meant by con-
fessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus, since it implies
a readiness on your part on all suitable occasions to
own Him in His true character and relation to your-
self as your Lord and Saviour.

Neither can there be any trouble in understanding
what is meant by believing in thine heart that God
hath raised Him from the dead, unless the expression,
to believe in thine heart, may cause some perplexity.
About this it is only necessary to state that the Holy

' John XX. 28. « Jobu xix. 38.

BELIEF AND CONFESSION 173

Ghost in the Bible takes very little notice of the dis-
tinctions made by modern science between the differ-
ent faculties and departments of the soul. We are in
the habit of referring the understanding to the mind
and the affections to the heart as their appropriate
seat ; but the word of God very often includes the
whole inner man, embracing the understanding, the
will, and the affections, under the term heart. But
even if we observe our human definitions and distinc-
tions, it is still true that we must believe in the heart
that God raised Christ from the dead in order to be
saved. It is no idle speculation with which we are
now engaged ; it is no cold system of philosophy com-
manding the homage of the intellect by its logical
force and beauty ; but there is a Divine person inviting
our confidence and a divinely-attested fact requiring
our faith.

It is an easy thing to crush the cavils of such scep-
tics as Strauss and Eenan, and to bring forward an
array of arguments to prove the resurrection of our
Lord that will force the assent of the mind ; and yet,
if the heart remains unaffected, not a step will be
taken to secure the salvation of the soul. There are
multitudes, doubtless, among the worldly and ungodly,
who profess to believe that Christ rose from the dead,
or at least they can claim that they do not dispute it.
But there is a vast difference between not disputiug a
truth and believing a truth. They may not dispute it
because they never had sufficient interest to investi-
gate the question ; or they may make a careless, un-
thinking avowal of their faith in this important teach-

174 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

ing of God's word, not upon His testimony, but be-
cause it seems to be generally accepted by the better
class of persons among whom they live ; or they may
be convinced it is true without the slightest personal
concern in its momentous consequences. Absorbed in
the business and the pleasures of the world, they re-
ceive it as they receive any other well-established his-
torical statement, and it produces no more marked
effect upon them. It is to guard us against the fatal
mistake of supposing that such a faith as this can be
of any real value we find it written " that if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt be-
lieve in thine heart that God hath raised him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved."

Let a few simple illustrations exhibit the difference
between believing with the mind and believing with
the heart ; or rather let them show what is meant by
believing both with the mind and heart. All belief
in the first instance is necessarily an act of the mind,
but there are some things we believe with the mind
alone, and there are other things we believe with the
heart also. "We may believe that Alexander invaded
Asia ; that Hannibal crossed the Alps ; that Julius
Caesar was assassinated in Kome ; that John Milton
wrote Paradise Lost ; that the sun is ninety -five millions
of miles distant from the earth ; that light travels
with the velocity of more than one hundred and ninety
thousand miles in a second ; but we do not believe
these facts with the heart. If a friend should inform
you that he had received a letter from England an-
nouncing the dispositon by will of an immense estate

BELIEF AND CONFESSION 175

without giving the name of the heir, you would prob-
ably believe him, but you would believe him with
the mind only, because the news could be of no
personal interest to you. But if he should proceed
with his information and declare that you yourself are
the heir to whom this estate immediately descends,
you would then believe with the heart, provided
wealth seems to you, as it does to many, a most desir-
able object. You might doubt whether such good
news could be true ; but if there was no room to
question the credibility of the statement, you would
believe it with more than your mind, because your
heart would be at once summoned to rejoice. A
criminal under sentence of death might believe the
testimony of his jailer that a certain man had been
elected governor during the period of his imprison-
ment, but he would believe it only with the mind.
If, however, the jailer should go on to tell him that
this newly-elected governor had extended to him an
unconditional pardon, and that he was at liberty to
leave his dungeon, he would believe the second state-
ment both with the mind and the heart. When
absent from your home a correspondent might relate
many ordinary occurrences that had transpired after
your departure, and you would doubtless believe the
statements, but only with the mind. If, however, a
letter or telegraphic despatch should at length be
received announcing the sudden death of your child,
or the one who was dearest to you on earth, you
would know what is meant by believing with the
heart as well as with the mind.

CHAPTEE XIY
BELIEF AND CONFESSION

NOW, when you say that you believe God raised
Christ from the dead, the question is not whether
you believe it as you believe that Oliver Cromwell was
once Lord Protector of England or that George
Washington was the first President of the L^nited
States, but are you glad that God raised Him from
the dead ? Do you see in His resurrection the crown-
ing proof and overwhelming demonstration of the fact
that He is indeed the Saviour of lost men, and your
Saviour ? Do you see in it in connection with His
death the only way of escape from the dreadful curse
of the violated law of God, and the only ground on
which you can build your hope of immortal glory ?
Do you see in it the satisfactory evidence that your
sins were left behind in the grave where they con-
signed Him, and the certain pledge of your own
joyful resurrection when He shall come a second time
apart from sin unto salvation ? It is written, " Who
was delivered for our offences, and was raised again
for our justification," ^ and it is vain to speak of
believing such a truth as this unless it finds a lodg-
ment in your heart and becomes the mainspring of
your actions. It is too important and bears too

1 Kom. iv. 25.
176

BELIEF a:n^d confession 177

directly upon your personal salvation to be dismissed
from your mind with the hasty admission that you
do not call it in question. If you were dangerously
ill, and really believed there was but one remedy that
could stay the ravages of your malady, you would not
be content with an indifferent announcement of your
faith in its restorative power, but you would gladly
and thankfully receive it. If you were on trial for
your life, you would not listen with quiet unconcern
to the verdict of the jury that swept the dreadful
gallows from your view, but your heart would give a
great throb of joy on hearing words which could give
you back freedom, and home, and friends. The
belief of religious truth, also, is sure to be attended by
the exercise of the affections ; and hence Christian faith
is the heartfelt reception of what God says in His
word concerning the person, the death, and the resur-
rection of Christ.

This will plainly appear as we proceed to inquire
out of the Sacred Scriptures precisely what is to be
believed in order to be saved. I beg your careful,
undivided attention to what follows, because helief is
the turning-point in the destiny of your soul. I shall
quote passages with which you are probably familiar,
but nevertheless I ask you to read them, and to read
them again and again, until their full meaning is
received " in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power." ' It will give you some idea of the impor-
tance of the truth we are now to consider when you
are informed that the words helieve and faith occur
» 1 Cor. ii. 4.

178 THE WAY MADE PLAIIT

about ^y^ hundred times in the New Testament. Our
Lord's first recorded conversation with an inquiring
sinner was about the necessity of belief ; all His dis-
courses and mii'acles were directed to the point of
inducing men to believe in Him ; and after His resur-
rection, we hear Him saying to His disciples, " Go ye
into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved ; but he that believeth not [whether he is or is
not baptized] shall be damned." ^ Accordingly, the
apostles went forth, and everywhere, and among all
classes of men, Jew and Gentile, rich and poor,
educated and illiterate, moral and immoral, in answer
to the question, " What must I do to be saved ? " their
reply was, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved." ^

But to illustrate the frequency and prominence with
which belief in Christ is taught, let us glance at the
testimony of a single Gospel on this subject. " There
was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the
Light, that all men through him might believe." ^
" As many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
his name." ^ " This beginning of miracles did Jesus
in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory ;
and his disciples believed on him." ^ " Now when he
was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day,
many believed in his name, when they saw the

' Mark xvi. 15, 16. ^ Acts xvi. 31. ^ Johu i . 6, 7.

< Johu i. 12. 6 John ii. 11.

BELIEF a:n"d confession 179

miracles which he did." * " As Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man
be lifted up : that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever beheveth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life. . . . He that believeth on
him is not condemned : but he that believeth not is
condemned already ; because he hath not believed in
the name of the only begotten Son of God." ^ " He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and he
that believeth not the Son shall not see life ; but the
wrath of God abideth on him." ^ " And many of the
Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying
of the woman, which testified, He told me all that
ever I did. . . . And many more believed be-
cause of his own word ; and said unto the woman,
Now we believe, not because of thy saying : for we
have heard him ourselves, and know that this is in-
deed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." ^ '' And
the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto
him, . . . and himself believed, and his whole
house." ^ " Yerily, verily, I say unto you. He that
heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me,
hath everlasting life, and shall not come into con-
demnation ; but is passed from death unto life." ^
" Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed
me." ^ " This is the work of God, that ye believe on

1 John ii. 23. ^ John iii. 14, 16, 18. ^ John iii. 36.
* John iv. 39, 41, 42. ^ John iv. 50, 53. ^ John v. 24.
'' John V. 46.

ISO THE WAY MADE PLAIN

him whom he hath sent."* "He that believethon
me shall never thirst." ^ " This is the will of him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son and be-
lieveth on him may have everlasting life : and I will
raise him up at the last day." ^ " He that belie veth
on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the
Spirit, which they that believe on him should re-
ceive." ^

" Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on
him. If ye continue in my word, then are ye my dis-
ciples indeed." ^ " Dost thou beUeve on the Son of
God ? He answered and said. Who is he, Lord, that
I might believe on him ? And Jesus said unto him,
Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh
with thee. And he said. Lord, I believe. And he
worshipped him."^ "If I do not the works of my
Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye be-
lieve not me, believe the works : that ye may know,
and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him." ^
" He that belie veth in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in
me shall never die. BeUevest thou this ? She saith
unto him. Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the
Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the
world." ^ " Because of the people which stand by I
said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me." ^
" Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and

^ John vi. 29. » John vi. 35. ^ John vi. 40.
4 John vii. 38, 39. * John viii. 31. « John ix. 35-38.
^ John X. 37, 38. « John xi. 25-27. » John xi. 42.

BELIEF AlsB CONFESSION 181

had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on
him." ' '' While ye have light, believe in the light,
that ye may be the children of light." ^ " I am come
a light into the world, that whosoever believe th on me
should not abide in darkness." ^ '' l^ow I tell you be-
fore it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may be-
lieve that I am he." ^ " Ye believe in God, believe
also in me." ^ " Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me : or else believe me for the very
works' sake." ^ " And when he [the Comforter] is
come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of right-
eousness, and of judgment : of sin, because they be-
lieve not on me." ^ " The Father himself loveth you,
because ye have loved me, and have believed that I
came out from God." ^ " ]S^ either pray I for these
alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word ; that they all may be one ; as
thou. Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also
may be one in us : that the Avorld may believe that
thou hast sent me." ^ " And he that saw it bare
record, and his record is true : and he knoweth that
he saith true, that ye might believe." ^" " And many
other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his dis-
ciples, which are not written in this book, but these
are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing ye might
have hfe through his name." "

1 John xi. 45. « john ^ii. 36. ' John xii. 46.

* John xiii. 19. * John xiv. 1. ^ John xiv. 11.

' John xvi. 8, 9. « John xvi. 27. ^ john xvii. 20, 21.

" John xix. 35. " John xx. 30, 31.

182 THE WAY MADE PLAIIS"

These are not all the passages concernmg belief in
Christ that might be quoted from the Gospel written
by John, but enough has been said to indicate how
large a place the doctrine occupies in the word of
God. They still further show that the truth to be be-
lieved in order to salvation is the great truth expressed
by Martha when she said, " I believe that thou art
the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the
world ; " or, as Simon Peter expressed it on a certain
occasion, " We believe and are sure that thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God." ' If you will look
with a little more care at some of the texts already
given, and at a few others, you will soon be convinced
that the heartfelt belief of the truth that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, is salvation to the person so
believing. At the beginning of the Gospel by John
we read, " He came unto his own, and his own [that
is, the Jews] received him not. But as many as re-
ceived him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name :
which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." ^
When He manifested Himself to the people of Israel,
they were offended by His lowly apj^earance. They
had expected their Messiah to be clothed at His first
coming with Divine majesty, and to march in royal
state for their national deliverance ; and when Jesus
of Nazareth, the reputed son of Joseph and the real
son of a humble virgin, presented His claims to their
faith and allegiance, they received Him not. *' But

i Jolm vi. G9. '^ John i. 11-13.

BELIEF AND CONFESSION 183

as many as received him " — received Him in His true
character — to them gave He power to become the sons
of God, for they were born of God by believing on
His name, or by believing that, notwithstanding His
unpretending exterior, He w^as indeed Immanuel, Won-
derful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace.

When He said to Kathanael that He had seen him
under a fig tree before Philip called him, ^' JSTathanael
answered and saith unto him, Kabbi, thou art the
Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus
answered and said unto him. Because I said unto
thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest
thou ? " Believest thou what ? Why, manifestly,
that Jesus was the Son of God, the King of Israel ;
and so believing, the man was saved ; for the Lord
said unto him, " Thou shalt see greater things than
these." '

When He spoke so kindly to the fallen woman at
the well of Samaria, seeking in matchless grace and
wisdom to draw her to Himself, she said at length,
perhaps with a dim consciousness of the truth stealing
like the gray dawn into her opening mind, " I know
that Messias cometh, which is called Christ : when he
is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto
her, I that speak unto thee am he," ^ and obviously it
was the belief of this statement which saved her soul.
No further conversation ensued between them ; but
instantly receiving as true His own word that He was
the Messias, or Christ, she left her waterpot, and in

^ John i. 49, 50. ^ John iv. 25, 26.

184 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

the joy of her heart announced to every one she met
that she had found the Saviour.

Another instance of salvation through belief of the
same truth occurs in the account of the man who was
born blind, to whom our Lord gave sight. Although
the person of Christ was unknown to him, yet he
boldly defended His character against the sneers of
the Pharisees, and accordingly was cast out of the
synagogue, or excommunicated. "Jesus heard that
they had cast him out ; and when he had found him,
he said unto him. Dost thou believe on the Son of
God ? He answered and said. Who is he. Lord, that
I might believe on him ? And Jesus said unto him,
Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh
with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he
worshipped him." ' It is perfectly obvious that the
truth here believed in order to salvation was nothing
more than this, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son
of God, and therefore the proper object of worship.

In like manner, we hear the confession of the
eunuch who said to Philip, "I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the
chariot to stand still : and they went down both into
the water, both Philip and the eunuch ; and he bap-
tized him."^ The cordial belief of this truth was the
way, simple as it is, by which the troubled sinner im-
mediately entered into rest, and joy, and life everlast-
ing. The same noble confession was heard from Peter
when our Lord " asked his disciples, saying, Whom do
men say that I, the Son of man, am ? And they said,

1 Jobu ix. 35-38. ' Acts viii. 37, 38.

BELIEF AND CONFESSION 185

Some say that thou art John the Baptist ; some, Elias ;
and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He
saith unto them. But whom say ye that I am ? And
Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and
said unto him. Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona : for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven." ' How certain it is from
this that if any man sincerely believes Jesus of Kaza-
reth to be the Christ, the Son of the living God, the
truth is revealed to him by the Father, and is the
channel or means through which the blessing of salva-
tion is bestowed ! Hence, the Saviour says, " He that
believeth on me hath everlasting life ; " "^ and " if ye
believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." ^
" These are written," says John, " that ye might be-
lieve that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and
that believing ye might have life through his name." *
Believing what ? Evidently, that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God ; and so believing, the assurance is we
have life through His name. '' Whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." ^ " Who is
he that overcometh the Tvorld, but he that believeth
that Jesus is the Son of God ? " ^ ISTothing more need
be said to prove that every one who truly and in the
heart believes Jesus to be the Son of God is saved.

But you at once perceive that no one can really be-
lieve this without also believing that He died in the
manner and for the object set forth in the Sacred

' Matt. xvi. 13-17. » John vi. 47. ^ j^y,^ y^^ 24.

4 John XX. 31. ^ 1 John v. 1. « 1 John v. 5.

186 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

Scriptures. It would be absurd and self-contradictory
to believe upon the testimony of these Scriptures that
He is the Son of God, and at the same time to deny
in the face of the same testimony that He died upon
the cross, and died as " the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world." ' " The Son of man came
not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give
his life a ransom for many." ^ " This is my blood of
the new testament, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins." ^ "God sending his own Son in
the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin
in the flesh." ^ " He hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin ; that we might be made the right-
eousness of God in him." ^ " Who gave himself for
our sins, that he might deliver us from this present
evil world, according to the will of God and our Fa-
ther." ^ " Christ died for our sins according to the
scriptures." ^ " When he had by himself purged our
sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high." ^ " Once in the end of the world hath he ap-
peared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." ®
" Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on
the tree." '' " The blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin." '' " He is the propitiation
for our sins." ^^ " Ye know that he was manifested to
take away our sins."^^ " Unto him that loved us, and

^ John i. 29. « Matt. xx. 28. ' Matt. xxvi. 28.

* Rora. viii. 3. » 2 Cor. v. 21. « Gal. i. 4.

' 1 Cor. XV. 3. 8 Heb. i. 3. ' Heb. ix. 26.

10 1 Pet. ii. 24. '"' 1 John i. 7. i» 1 John ii. 2.

^^ 1 John iii. 5.

BELIEF AND CONFESSION 187

washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath
made us kings and priests unto God and his Father ;
to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen." '

The Bible is full of such texts, for its great design
from the third chapter of Genesis onward to the close
is to proclaim our deliverance from sin and its dread-
ful consequences through the death of God's only
begotten and well-beloved Son. It is impossible,
therefore, to believe in the heart that He is the Son
of God without also believing that He died, not by
accident, not by the uncontrolled vindictiveness of
His enemies, not as an example, for then His example
were thrown away, since none of us are called to die
upon the cross under the hidings of God's face, but
that He died as the sin-hearer and divinely-appointed
substitute of His people, who was made to be sin for
them in that fearful hour when from His breaking
heart 'and pallid lips ascended the mournful cry of
desertion. The question, then, is just this : Do you
sincerely believe that He died to put away sin by the
sacrifice of Himself ? If you do, you are a saved
person, and saved now ; and if you were to ask me
how I know, I would reply, I know it upon precisely
the same testimony that tells me Jesus is the Son of
God. He who declares by the Holy Ghost in His
blessed word that when the fulness of the time was
come He " sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made
under the law, to redeem them that were under the
law " by being made a curse for them, still further

^ Rev. i. 5, 6.

188 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

declares that the belief of this truth is salvation ; and
we have as much authority for believing one state-
ment as the other.

And now what renders assurance doubly sure is the
fact that Jesus, who lived and was crucified, rose
again, and was thus " declared to be the Son of God
with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead." ' If God Himself had
not connected the forgiveness of your sins and eternal
life with your belief of what He says in the Bible
concerning the person, the death, and the resurrection
of His Son, you could not be blamed for remaining in
anxiety and fear as to your salvation. But after He
has so distinctly stated that if you believe in your
heart that He raised the Lord Jesus from the dead,
you shall be — not may be, nor hope to be, no, shall he
— saved, a moment's doubt of your pardon and ac-
ceptance is a grievous dishonor to Him who is too
holy to tell a lie, too good to trifle with your eternal
interests. When the multitude listened to Peter and
the other apostles preaching on the day of Pentecost,
they heard of the person, the death, and the resurrec-
tion of Christ, but they did not at once hear that the
belief of the testimony which had been delivered in
their presence was the simple and yet sure way of
receiving life. Hence for a little while they were
greatly perplexed and troubled, being convicted of
sin, but seeing no way of escape from ruin, until they
were told of the remission of sins in immediate con-
nection with the name of Jesus, who had been

^ Kom. i. 4.

BELIEF AND CONFESSIOlSr 189

preached to them ; and believing that He had put
away sin, they that gladly received the word were
baptized, and rejoiced.

Saul of Tarsus, also, on his way to Damascus, had
overwhelming proof of the resurrection of Christ, and
yet he continued in darkness and distress until in-
formed that the Lord had risen, not to condemn the
world, but that the world through Him might be
saved, and believing this, " immediately there fell from
his eyes as it had been scales," and " straightway he
preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son
of God." * In the chapter that follows the narrative
of Paul's conversion we find Peter preaching for the
first time to the Gentiles, in the house of the Koman
centurion, Cornelius. He first set forth the person of
Jesus Christ, declaring that " he is Lord of all," and
then His death upon the cross, and then His resurrec-
tion, adding : " To him give all the prophets witness,
that through his name whosoever believeth in him
shall receive remission of sins." ^ Believeth what ?
Clearly what the apostle had just afiirmed concerning
Him as the Lord of all who came down from heaven
to die and to rise again for the salvation of men. In
the next chapter but two we find Paul preaching to
his own countrymen in Antioch, and again first setting
forth Jesus as the Saviour whose shoes John the
Baptist was not worthy to loose, and then declaring
His death, and then announcing His resurrection, and
then summing all up in the blessed words, "Be it
known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that

1 Acts ix. 20. ^ Acts x. 43.

190 THE WAY MADE PLAII^- .

through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness
of sins : and by him all that believe are justified from
all things, from which ye could not be justified by the
law of Moses." ' Believe what ? Evidently the testi-
mony they had just heard about the person, the death,
and the resurrection of Christ ; and, receiving this
testimony as true, they e\ddently had the same au-
thority for believing that their sins ^vere forgiven,
and that they were justified from all things, that they
had for believing the statements to which they had
listened.

This is still the plain and only way by which sin-
ners are saved ; f or " to him that worketh not, but be-
lie veth in him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
counted for righteousness," ^ and " therefore it is of
faith, that it might be by grace ; to the end the prom-
ise might be sure to all the seed."^ Yes, it is sure,
and there are no " ifs " nor " ands " nor " buts " about
it. God does not say to him that believeth, " if " he
feels good ; to him that believeth " and " does some-
thing else ; to him that believeth " but " feareth ; no !
He says. To him that believeth,[his faith is counted for
righteousness. Luther used to say the devil would
sometimes come to him with the question, " Martin,
do you feel that you are saved ? " " No," the man
taught of the Spirit would reply, " I do not/<?^Z it, but
I Icnow it." It is said that toward the close of the
first Napoleon's career he was one day reviewing his
troops in Paris, when having inadvertently dropped
the bridle-reins of the horse he was riding, the spirited

1 Acts xiii. 38, 39. ' Rom. iv. 5. ^ Rom. iv. 16.

BELIEF AND CONFESSION 191

animal gave a bound and came near dashing the
emperor to the earth. A young soldier standing in the
lines sprang forward, and, seizing the bit, saved the
chieftain from a fall. Napoleon, glancing at him,
said, in his quick, curt way, " Thank you, captain."
The soldier, knowing his peculiarities, looked up with
a smile, and inquired, " Of what regiment, sire ? "
" Of my guards," replied the emperor, and galloped
away. The soldier had no epaulettes on his shoulders
and no sword at his side to prove his rank, but in-
stantly laying his musket on the ground, with the re-
mark, " Let whoever will, carry it ; I am done with
it," he proceeded to join a group of staff -officers stand-
ing at a little distance. One of them, seeing him ap-
proach, said, "What is this insolent fellow doing
here ? " " This insolent fellow," responded the soldier,
looking the other steadily in the eye — " this insolent
fellow is a captain of the guards." " Why, man,"
replied the officer, " you are deranged ; why do you
speak thus ? " " He said it," shouted the soldier,
pointing to the emperor, far down the lines. " I beg
your pardon, captain," responded the officer ; " I was
not aware of your promotion."

And now, my friend, " if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved ; " and if the world, the flesh, or the
devil asks you how you know you are saved, reply by
looking up to Jesus, at the right hand of the Father, and
boldly exclaim, " He said it." Surely He has said it
in the " word of God, which liveth and abide th for-

192 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

ever," ' and who shall gainsay it ? You are authorized
to believe this very moment that He bare your sins in
His own body on the tree ; and if He bare them in His
own body, they cannot be found on you. You are
commanded to believe that He put away sin, root and
branch, by the sacrifice of Himself ; and if He put it
away, it can no longer be upon your conscience.
You are entreated to accept as true the testimony of
God that He died for our sins according to the Scrip-
tures— not according to our feelings, or deservings,
but according to the Scriptures — and he who believes
this may hnow upon that same testimony that he is
saved. Oh, that you may believe God as Abraham
did when " he staggered not at the promise of God
through unbelief ; but w^as strong in faith, giving glory
to God ; [for it glorifies and pleases God to have us
believe him ;] and being fully persuaded, that what he
had promised, he was able also to perform. And
therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was
imputed to him ; but for us also, to whom it shall be
imputed, if we believe in him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our
offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Therefore being justified by faith, [not by feelings or
works] we have [not hope to have, nor try to have]
peace with God, through oar Lord Jesus Christ : by
whom also we have access by faith into this grace
wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God." 2

' 1 Pet. i. 23. 2 jjom iv^ 20-25 ; v. 1, 2.

BELIEF AND COITFESSIOIi?' 193

*' Faith is a very simple thing,
Though little understood ;
It frees the soul from death's dread sting
By resting in the blood.

*^ Faith is not what we feel or see,
It is a simple trust
In what the God of love has said
Of Jesus as ' the Just.'

** What Jesus is, and that alone.
Is faith's delightful plea j
It never deals with sinful self,
Nor righteous self in me.

^^ It tells me I am counted ' dead ^
By God, in His own word ;
It tells me I am ' born again '
In Christ, my eisen Lokd.

" If He is free, then I am free
From all unrighteousness ;
If He is just, then I am just,
He is my righteousness."

CHAPTER XV
THE BELIE VEE'S SAFETY

" For the scripture saith, "Whosoever believeth ou him shall not be
ashamed." — Bomans x. 11.

A YOUNG minister was in tlie habit of visiting
an aged Scotch woman in his congregation who
was familiarly called " Old Nanny." She was bed-
ridden and rapidly approaching the end of her " long
and weary pilgrimage," but she rested with undis-
turbed composui-e and full assurance of faith upon the
finished work of Christ. One day he said to her,
" Now, Nanny, what if, after all your confidence in
the Saviour, and your watching and waiting, God
should suffer your soul to be lost ? " Raising herself
on her elbow, and turning to him with a look of grief
and pain, she laid her hand on the open Bible before
her, and quietly replied, " Ah, dearie me, is that a'
the length you hae got yet, man ? God," she con-
tinued earnestly, " would hae the greatest loss. Poor
Nanny would but lose her soul, and that would be a
great loss indeed, but God would lose His honor and
His character. Haven't I hung my soul upon His
* exceeding great and precious promises ' ? and if He
brak' His word. He would make Himself a liar, and
a' the universe would rush ixto confusion."
This anecdote reveals the true ground of the be-
194

THE believer's SAFETY 195

liever's safety. It is as high as the honor of God ;
it is as trustworthy as His character ; it is as immu-
table as His promises ; it is as broad as the infinite
merits of His Son's atoning blood. There has long
been a sharp controversy between theological writers
concerning the doctrine of " the perseverance of the
saints," as it is called, but, like most controversies
among true Christians, it is owing largely to a misap-
prehension or misapplication of the terms employed in
the dispute. The question, properly presented, is not
about the perseverance of the saints, but the persever-
ance of the Lord. If the saints were left to them-
selves, it is not only probable, but certain, that they
would not persevere, but if the Lord perseveres in His
purpose of grace, it is not only probable, but certain,
that they will be saved. Inasmuch, then, as the
phrase, " perseverance of the saints," is not found in
the Bible, and as it may possibly turn our attention
from the Saviour to ourselves, which is always fraught
with evil, I prefer to think of the perseverance of the
Lord in speaking of the believer's safety.

" The Scripture saith," or, in other words, God saith
in the Scripture, " whosoever believeth on him [that
is, on Christ] shall not be ashamed." Mark the vast
extent of this blessed declaration, " whosoever believ-
eth." The word " w^hosoever " goes like the light
over the entire surface of our globe, and includes
within the ample and urgent invitations of the Gospel
every member of the human race. There are many
who fear that they do not belong to the elect, or that
they are not embraced in the plan of redemption, and

196 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

hence they long to have some direct and personal evi-
dence of the willingness of God to forgive and save
them^ but surely there is here full Avarrant for the
faith of every sinner. The most illiterate, the most
degraded, and the most fidendless, as well as the in-
telligent, the virtuous, and the honored, among the
sons of men, are invited, and exhorted, and com-
manded, to believe on Jesus Christ, for " whosoever
believeth shall not be ashamed." This Divine proc-
lamation is not only a good way, but unquestionably
the best way that could be devised, to encourage the
doubting and hesitating sinner to trust in the prom-
ises of God, for if there had been a better way, cer-
tainly it would have been adopted. Suppose there
were a book somewhere in the world containing the
names of all the saved in the past, present, and future.
If you were to find your name on one of its countless
pages, you would not be satisfied : because there may
have been, or may be now, or may be hereafter, an-
other person of the same name. Suppose the voice of
God should speak down from heaven, as it did at the
baptism and transfiguration of His well-beloved Son,
audibly and articulately announcing you to be one of
His redeemed children ; still you would not be satis-
fied, because you might fear your ears had deceived
you, or that the announcement was intended for a
different person. But when the voice of God saith in
the Scripture, " whosoever believeth," you hioio that
you are brought within the circle of mercy and desig-
nated in a surer manner than by name.

If a wealthy and benevolent gentleman were to

197

advertise that lohosoever applied at his residence before
a certain day should receive a valid title to a valuable
piece of property, you would not refuse to apply
because he had not mentioned your name in the
advertisement. If you were travelling on a railroad
with a number of passengers, and the conductor should
announce that whosoever is going to the place you are
anxious to reach must leave the train at the next
station, you would not retain yoar seat and be carried
away from your destination because he did not call
out your name. If you were in a city besieged by a
powerful army, and the commanding officers of the
opposing forces should order a suspension of hostilities
that whosoever among the inhabitants desired to re-
move to a place of safety might withdraw before the
assault was made, you would not complain because
your name did not occur in the order. In such cases
a class is specified, and if you belong to the class you
need no other warrant to act. In like manner, you
have abundant authority for acting without a mo-
ment's delay upon the broad statements and general
invitations of the Gospel. Jesus says, " God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting Life." ' " And the Spirit and the
bride say. Come. And let him that heareth say.
Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." ^
Surely, you cannot ask or desire anything more
earnest, more tender, more definite than this ; and if
1 John iii. 16. sEev. xxii. 17.

198 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

it fails to convince you that you are authorized to
believe on Christ, there is no conceivable mode by
which you can be assured of God's willingness to save
you.

But to make this point still clearer you will observe
it is said, " Whosoever believeth in him." There is a
difference between believing a person and believing
in or on a person. The former implies that we accept
his statements as true without going farther, but the
latter implies that we trust in or rely on him. If a
man of undoubted veracity were to inform us of
something which he had witnessed, but of which we
ourselves had no personal knowledge, we would be-
lieve him ; but if he should promise to confer upon
us a favor which we greatly desired to receive, we
would confide in him or depend on him to fulfil
his promise. Xow, the salvation held out to us in
the Gospel does not consist merely in the belief of
certain doctrines, but belief in a person. Peter and
the other apostles, in defending themselves before the
Jewish council, said, " The God of our fathers raised
up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him
hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince
and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and
forgiveness of sins." ' He showed Himself alive to
His disciples, " after his passion, by many infallible
proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking
of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God ; " ^
and when He had "led them out as far as to
Bethany," ^ and had given His final commands, " while

1 Acts V. 30, 31. 2 Acts '^ 3^ 3 Luijg j.^. j^^ 59^

THE believer's SAFETY 199

they beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received
him out of their sight." ' It is not, therefore, a dead
but a living Christ which speaks to us in His word,
and in whom we are urged to trust. From His exalted
seat at the right hand of the Father He sees you now
while reading these lines, and if it were best, He
would instantly descend from heaven and stand before
you in personal, visible form. So full of sympathy is
His heart of love, and so deep His concern for your
salvation, that the sight of your burdened soul would
arrest His attention, I think, even if engaged in
making a new world, and bring Him once more to
the cross, could His death a second time avail more
fully to deliver you from the condemnation and curse
of God's violated law.

Suppose He should appear at this moment in your
presence and with His own voice promise to give you
the crown of eternal life before asking you to do any-
thing or to feel anything. Would you trust in Him ?
Would you depend on Him to make good His promise ?
If you would, remember He speaks to you as truly
and directly in His word as He could possibly do
were He to reveal Himself bodily, so that your eyes
could see Him and your ears could hear Him. It is
the peculiarity of His word that, unlike any other word,
it " liveth and abideth forever," ^ so that it is as fresh,
and sweet, and powerful to-day as if it had just fallen
from His lips. But there is this immense advantage
in the written word over the spoken — that having
once received assurance of salvation in the former

1 Acts i. 9. n Pet. i. 23.

200 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

you can always receive it there, for " the word of the
Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which
by the gospel is preached unto you." '

It is an unspeakable relief to the troubled sinner to
find that this word which by the Gospel is preached
unto you does not say, Whosoever belie veth and is
good ; Whosoever believeth and f eeleth happy ;
Whosoever believeth and prayeth well; Whosoever
believeth and loveth God fervently; Whosoever
believeth and findeth the true Church ; but, " Who-
soever believeth on him," or, in other words, " Who-
soever trusteth in Christ, shall not be ashamed."
Of course I am far from saying that the sincere be-
liever will not follow holiness ; or that he will not be
happy; or that he will not hold communion with
God ; or that he will not love the Saviour and confess
Him before men ; but the sinner is not to be occupied
with these first, for he needs first to be saved, and he
is saved by believing, simply and only believing, in
Jesus. Nor does the word intimate whether our be-
lief must be strong or weak. It is not, Whosoever
believeth strongly, but, Whosoever believeth. It is
Jesus Christ who saves us, and not our belief; and
hence, " if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed," ^
or if, like the suffering woman " which had spent all
her living upon physicians," ^ your faith is greatly
wanting in knowledge, still 3^ou may come, creeping,
if you cannot walk, to that compassionate and gentle
Saviour of whom it is written, " A bruised reed

» 1 Pet. i. 25. nisiU. xvii. 20.

^ Luke viii. 43.

201

shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not
quench." *

*' Whosoever belie veth on him shall not be ashamed."
He shall not be ashamed to confess Him with the
mouth, for the " righteous are bold as a lion," ^ and
the saints of old " through faith subdued kingdoms,
wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the
mouth of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped
the edge of the sword ; out of weakness were made
strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the
armies of the aliens."^ Kor shall he be ashamed
" when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking venge-
ance on them that know not God, and that obey not
the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." ^ The solemn
language of our Lord does not apply to him : " Who-
soever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my
words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him
also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he
Cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy
angels."^ On the other hand, he can joyfully ex-
claim with the apostle, " I am not ashamed of the
Gospel of Christ : for it is the power of God [not the
power of man, but the power of God] unto salvation
to every one that believeth." ^ And again with the
apostle he can say, *' God forbid that I should glory,
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." ^

^Matt. xii. 20. ^p^ov. xxviii. 1. ^Heb. xi. 33, 34.

*2 Thess. i. 7, 8. *Mark viii. 38. ^Eoin. i. 16.

' Gal. vi. 14.

202 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

The secret of tins bold confession of the crucified One,
and of this strange glorifjang in the cross, is given by
the same apostle when he says, " We having the same
spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed,
and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and
therefore speak; knowing that he which raised up
the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and
shall present us with you."* The believer, then,
knows upon the sure testimony of God's word that he
shall not be ashamed at the coming of the Lord here-
after, and consequently he cannot be ashamed to own
the Lord as his Saviour here.

The foundation of his safety is laid on the finished
work of Christ, and is guarded by the infinite power,
the eternal purpose, and the immutable promise of
Jehovah. Nothing, therefore, in this world or in the
world to come can blight his hopes or defeat his
aspirations. ^' If God be for us, Tvho can be against
us ? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things ? Who shall lay anything to
the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth.
Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died,
yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the
right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us." ^ In this most interesting and comforting passage
the Holy Ghost first gives us to understand that God
is for us, and hence triumphantly asks, Who can be
against us ? He then asserts that God's love for us is
so great that He spared not His own Son, though He

» 2 Cor. iv. 13, 14. 2 Eom. viii. 31-34.

THE believer's SAFETY 203

must endure the sorrow and shame, the deep humilia-
tion and terrible agonies, of Gethsemane and Calvary,
and makes this the proof of our Father's willingness
to bestow upon us freely all things necessary to secure
the end of so much suffering, since the greater gift
includes the less. He then challenges the universe to
bring the slightest charge against those whom God
Himself has justified. He then mentions the death
of Christ, which was in the room and place of our
death, because of our offences ; and, as if this were
not enough. He tells us of His resurrection, which is
the unanswerable demonstration of our complete
justification; and, as if this were not enough, he
points to Him at the right hand of God, Head over
all things to the Church, and swaying the sceptre of
supreme sovereignty ; and, as if this were not enough,
He bids us listen to the ever prevalent intercession of
One who could say even upon the earth, although de-
spised and rejected of men, " Father, I thank thee that
thou hast heard me ; and I knew that thou hearest
me always." * " Father, I will that they also, whom
thou hast given me, be with me where I am." ^

It is not surprising that a chapter containing such a
passage should begin by declaring that there is no
condemnation against the believer, and end by declar-
ing that there is no separation from the Saviour when
once we truly believe on His name. " The Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." ^
" By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body," ^

^ John xi. 41, 42. 2 JqIjh ^vii. 24.

3 1 Cor. ii. 10. -» 1 Cor. xii. 13.

204 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

no matter how widely removed from each other by
time or place. " Whither shall I go from thy
Spirit ? " * asks the Psalmist. It is certain, then^ that
the Spirit is everywhere present, and is perfectly
familiar with all that occurs in heaven above, and in
the earth beneath, and in the darkness of the under-
world, and yet having passed across the boundless
empire which the word of the Almighty has created,
and over the hell which sin has dug, He distinctly an-
nounces " that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." ^

There are thousands of Christians who, on the
pretence of humility, make a merit of doubting their
salvation, but in the light of such statements as you
have just read the faintest shadow of doubt is seen to
be a grievous dishonor to God. If doubts are becom-
ing to those who are believers, God is a liar, but if
God speaks the truth, how should we look upon our
doubts, and how should we regard ourselves for call-
ing in question His clear and oft-repeated testimony ?
But, you may reply, your difficulty does not lie in this
direction. You firmly believe, you say, that God
speaks the truth, but you doubt your acceptance, you
doubt whether you are saved, because your faith is so
weak, and your love is so cold, and your feelings are
so variable, and there is so much evil in you, and you
make so little progress, or none at all that you can

> Ps. cxxxix. 7. ' Rom. viii. 38, 39.

THE BELIEVEPw'S SAFETY 205

perceive, in holiness. Xow, it is not for man to de-
cide whether you are or are not a believer in Christ,
but I do confidently affirm that these things have
nothing whatever to do with the ground upon which
God makes peace with the sinner, though they may
have much to do with our enjoyment of peace.

When Jehovah in infinite grace redeemed Israel
from Egyptian bondage, what was the ground of
their peace and the precise cause of their deliverance ?
It was not their goodness in any respect ; for they
were certainly no better by nature nor by practice, for
aught we are told, than the Egyptians, and there was
nothing to recommend them to the Divine mercy but
their utter wretchedness. " The children of Israel
sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried,
and their cry came up unto God by reason of the
bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God
remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac,
and with Jacob." ' But before He could deal with
them in manifested love He must first deal with their
sins in manifested righteousness. Their lives were
forfeited by reason of their iniquities, and the judg-
ment must descend : but in the tenderness of God's
compassion for His covenant people it descended upon
the head of a divinely-appointed Substitute. They
were commanded to slay a lamb, and to take the blood
— " for the blood is the life " ^ — and to strike it on the
two side-posts and on the upper door-post of their
houses. " And the blood," it is added, " shall be to
you for a token upon the houses where you are ; and
1 Ex. ii. 23, 24. » Deut. xii. 23.

206 THE WAY MADE PLAi:?f

when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the
plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I
smite the land of Egypt." '

The blood made all the difference that existed be-
tween the Israelites and the Egyptians, for it was a
token that the sentence of death had abeady been
executed in the behalf of those within the blood-
sprinkled houses, because it had fallen upon their rep-
resentative and substitute. The slightest doubt of
safety, therefore, on the part of an Israelite sheltered
behind those red door-posts, would have been the same
as saying that Jehovah is a liar. He had said,
" When I see the blood, I will pass over you," and
this ought to have been enough : it was enough for all
who believed His word. Some of them may have
complained that their faith was so weak, and their
love was so cold, and their feelings were so variable,
and there was so much evil in them, and so little
progress in holiness, that they could not see the evi-
dences of their salvation. But this was not the ques-
tion. God did not say, " When you see the evidences,"
but, " When I see the blood, I will pass over you."
He did not say. When I see your strong faith, your
ardent love, your happy feelings, yom* victory over
the evil of your nature, your rapid growth in holiness,
I will pass over you, but. When I see the blood, I will
pass over you. It was not the blood and something
else, but it was the blood by itself, the blood which
God provided, that formed the ground of their safety
and their redemption. During that frightful night of

1 Ex. xii. 13.

THE believer's SAFETY 207

destruction there may have been fathers and mothers
who, hearing the shrieks of the terror-stricken Egyp-
tians, caught their first-born to their hearts in inexpress-
ible anxiety, but if so, their fear was a most un-
generous and unworthy suspicion of the God of their
salvation, for they were as secure from harm as the
power and purpose and promise of the Almighty could
make them.

CHAPTER XVI
THE BELIEVER'S SAFETY

LET us take from the Old Testament Scripture
one more illustration of the believer's perfect
safety on the ground that blood has been shed, or that
life has been given up in the stead of his life. On
the great day of atonement Aaron was directed to
select two goats, one for the Lord and the other for
the scapegoat. " And Aaron," it is said, " shall bring
the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer
him for a sin offering." ' The victim was not pre-
sented as a burnt-offering, for that was a type of
Christ, who " offered himself without spot to God," ^
not as a sin-bearer, but " an offering and a sacrifice to
God for a sweet-smelling savor." ^ Nor was he pre-
sented as a meat-offering ; for that was a type of
Christ in His faultless life on earth, fulfilling all His
duties to man as man. l^or was he presented as a
peace-offering ; for that was a type of our communion
with God in Christ, so that it can be said, " Ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of
Christ." ^ But he was presented distinctly as a sin-
offering, to put away iniquity from the sight of a holy
God. Having been slain, the high priest was com-
manded to bring his blood within the veil of the tab-

1 Lev. xvi. 9. 2 Heb. ix. 14.

^Eph. V. 2. *Eph. ii. 13.

208

THE believer's SAFETY 209

ernacle where Jehovah dwelt, and to sprinkle the blood
upon the mercy -seat and before the mercy -seat seven
times, or the complete number. Then he was to go
out unto the altar that is before the Lord (see Levit-
icus xvi. 18), and sprinkle the blood upon it seven
times. Afterwards, it is said, " Aaron shall lay both
hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess
over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel,
and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting
them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him
away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness :
and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities
unto a land not inhabited." *

The act of laying both the hands upon the head of
the goat showed that the guilt of the people was trans-
ferred or imputed to their substitute, because, the
blood being shed, the law of God was perfectly satis-
fied, the demands of His justice were thoroughly met,
and in unsullied righteousness He could now put away
their sin. " The life of the flesh is in the blood," we
are told, " for it is the blood that maketh an atone-
ment for the soul." 2 Mark that ! " It is the blood
that maketh an atonement for the soul ; " or, as the
word translated atonement here properly means " to
cover or cover over," it is the blood that coverethover
the sins of the soul ; and because covered over with
blood so that God's pure eyes cannot see them, at-one-
ment is made, and God and the sinner are brought
together in peace. Hence it is said, *' The goat shall
bear upon him all their iniquities [not some of them

^ Lev. xvi. 21, 22. ' Lev. xvii. 11.

210 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

merely, but all of them] unto a land not inhabited,"
and there they are lost to view forever. If, then,
any of the assembled Israelites who watched the high
priest coming forth from the presence of the Lord to
sprinkle the altar with the blood of the slain goat,
and to lay both his hands upon the head of the live
goat, should doubt for a single moment the forgive-
ness of all their iniquities, it would be in effect to say
that the blessed God had uttered a falsehood. It was
not a question of fitness or unfitness, of feeling or of
realization, on their part, but it was a simple question
concerning the veracity of the Holy One of Israel,
who had said, " It is the blood that maketh an atone-
ment for the soul," and, " The goat shall bear upon
him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited."

Let us turn now to the New Testament, and we
find it written, " Christ being come an high priest of
good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of
this building; neither by the blood of goats and
calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the
ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth
to the purifying of the flesh : how much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without spot to God, purge your con-
science from dead works to serve the living God ? " ^
" Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as
silver and gold, . . . but with the precious blood

» Heb. ix. 11-14.

THE BELIE VEE'S SAFETY 211

of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot." ' " The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth
us from all sin." ^ "In whom we have [not hope to
have, nor try to have, nor shall have, but have] re-
demption through his blood." ^ *'Much more, then,
being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through him." * " For it pleased the
Father that in him should all fulness dwell ; and hav-
ing made peace through the blood of his cross," ^ of
course we may add, we do not have to make peace,
for it is already made, and all we are asked to do is
to accept the overtures of peace extended so freely
and generously in the Gospel. Such is the plain tes-
timony of the Holy Ghost, and to this must be added
the testimony of the translated saints in heaven, as
recorded by the Holy Ghost in the book of Kevela-
tion. Certainly those who are in glory know how
they got there, and the Spirit tells us they raise their
anthems of praise to the Lamb, sayings " Thou wast
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out
of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation ;
and hast made us unto our God kings and priests :
and we shall reign on the earth." ^

It is the blood, then, not example, nor influence,
nor power, but the precious blood of Christ alone,
that forms the ground of the believer's safety. It is
not the blood and something else — the blood and our
estimate of it, the blood and our thoughts about it,
the blood and our feelings — but the blood by itself

1 1 Pet. i. 18, 19. 2 1 John i. 7. ^ Eph. i. 7.

* Rom. V. 9. «* Ck)l. i. 19, 20. « Eev. v. 9, 10.

212 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

which was poured out upon the cross more than nine-
teen hundred years ago ; and if you believe that the
blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth you from all sin, ac-
cording to the testimony of God's word you are saved.
God is infinitely satisfied with it ; and if you are satis-
fied, there can be no further cause of controversy be-
tween you and Him. His own dear Son, who knew
no sin, w^as made to be sin for us that we might be-
come the righteousness of God in Him. He took our
place under the law with all its dreadful consequences
that we might be exalted to His place in heaven with
all its unspeakable blessedness. He w^as cast out of
His Father's presence as evil that we might stand in
His Father's presence without spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing. He bore the curse which we merited
that w^e might receive the blessing which He merited.
He drank the cup of wrath which was pressed to our
lips that we might drink of the fountain of the water
of life freely. He endured the condemnation which
was due to us that we might obtain the justification
which was due to Him. He went down into the jaws
of death that were ready to devour us that we might
rise to a rapturous immortality. He was regarded
and treated as sin that we might be regarded and
treated as righteoasness, and that the righteousness
of God. Blessed Saviour ! eternity will be too short
to speak Thy praise.

When I say that the believer is regarded and treated
as righteousness, I do not mean to affirm that he is
merely regarded and treated as 7nghteous, for he is
righteous. God Himself declares him righteous, and

THE believer's SAFETY 213

** we are sure that the judgment of God is according
to truth."* He cannot declare a thing to be true
which is really untrue, and at best a sham, such as
many of our theologians make the believer's standing
to be. They deny that he is righteous, but argue that
God treats him as if he were righteous ; or, in other
words, they represent the blessed God as a party to a
wretched delusion and pretence. If the believer is
not righteous, God cannot treat him as righteous, but
he is righteous, perfectly righteous, in Christ, for " by
him all that believe are justified from all things."^
Christ's standing, then, is the believer's standing.
The measure of Christ's acceptableness in the sight of
the Father is the precise measure of the acceptable-
ness of the believer ; and if you ask me to define a
believer, I reply in the one word, Christ. We are
" accepted in the beloved." ^ " We are in him that is
true, even in his Son Jesus Christ." ^ " For as the
body is one, and hath many members, and all the
members of that one body, being many, are one body :
so also is Christ ; " ^ and hence the oneness between
the two is so entire that the whole body is called
Christ, "and ye are complete in him."^ "Herein is
our love [love with us, not our love to God, but God's
love to us] made perfect, that we may have boldness
in the day of judgment : because as He is, so are we
in this world ; " ^ not simply, so shall we be in the
world to come, but, so are we in this world. The

^ Rom. ii. 2. ' Acts xiii. 39. ' Eph. i. 6.

< 1 John V. 20. ^ 1 Cor. xii. 12. « Col. ii. 10.

' 1 John iv. 17.

214 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

fact is, whatever Christ did in achieving redemption
He did " for us," and, if I may so say, as us. He
stood, as we were, under the law, that we might
stand, as He is, before the Father. God, there-
fore, sees us as Christ in His presence, for He '' hath
raised us up together, and made us sit together in
heavenly places, in Christ Jesus." ' He no longer
views us as on the earth, but in heaven, and we
appear to Him as Christ does. He sees us through
the perfect righteousness of Christ, and " as he is, so
are we."

Such, then, is the believer's standing, and if so,
where are his sins ? Let Hezekiah answer, who said
to God in his prayer, " Thou hast in love to my soul
delivered it from the pit of corruption ; for thou hast
cast all my -sins behind thy back " ^ — not only some of
them, but all of them, were cast behind God's back,
and therefore could no longer be seen by Him. Let
the prophet reply who, predicting the future restora-
tion and conversion of Israel, exclaims, "Thou wilt
cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."^ Here,
then, are all the sins of the believer drowned in the
deep waters of oblivion, and not a ripple is left on the
surface to indicate where they are buried. Is it not a
pitiful business for the Christian to be always diving
down in the attempt to drag to the surface these
loathsome things and hold them up in the face of a
smiling God ? Be sure there is no merit in groaning
forever over your sins when you are plainly and re-
peatedly told that they have been removed from you

^ Eph. ii. 6. Msa. xxxviii. 17. ^Mic. vii. 19.

THE believer's SAFETY 215

" as far as the east is from the west." ' God, of
course, not only knows all that will occur in the
future, but He remembers all that has occurred in the
past, except one thing. There is one thing which He
is pleased to forget, and if you wish to know what
this is, you read in the Old Testament and twice in
the New Testament, that, speaking of those who be-
lieve on His Son, He says, " Their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more."^ "And you,
being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of
your flesh, hath he [God] quickened together with
him [Christ], having forgiven you all trespasses ;
blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was
against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out
of the way, nailing it to his cross." ^ There was every-
thing against the believer once, but there is nothing
against him now, for the law, or the handwriting of
ordinances, having been righteously and completely
met and satisfied, it has been blotted out ; and then,
as if the tablet or parchment on which it was written
might still terrify the Christian, it has been taken
out of the way and nailed in triumph to the cross as
an open proclamation to the universe that " there is
therefore now no [not one] condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus." ^ He has become the all-
sufficient substitute for those who believe on Him, and
hence the law has no further claim upon them. Let
us suppose that during the late war a man was drafted
into the army. Let us suppose that he did not choose

' Ps. ciii. 12. 2 jje]3 yju 12 ; x. 17.

3 Col. ii. 13, 14. 4Kom. viii. 1.

216 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

to fight, and consequently procured a substitute to go

in his place. Let us suppose that the substitute was

killed in the next battle, and that under another act

of conscription the man was again drafted. In that

case he would have refused to go or to procure a

substitute, on the ground that he was already dead so

far as the law was concerned. "Wherefore, my

brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the

body of Christ." *

But in addition to all that has been said, it is well

to consider for a moment the believer's new nature as

another proof of his perfect safety. The Saviour

says, " Except a man be born again, he cannot see the

kingdom of God ; " ^ and the Spirit says, " Whosoever

believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God."^

*' For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ

Jesus." ^ "Whereby are given unto us exceeding

great and precious promises : that by these ye might

be partakers of the divine nature." ^ Of such passages

I can only repeat what was said about the believer

being called " righteous " in the Bible. God does not

treat him merely as if righteous, but he is righteous.

So God does not speak of him as if born again, but

he is born again. He is as truly " born of God,"

" born of the Spirit," and made a " partaker of the

Divine nature," as he is born of man, born of the

flesh, and made a partaker of the nature of his earthly

parents. There are many who compare the adoption

of Christians mentioned in the Scriptures with the

' Rom. vii. 4. 'Jobniii. 3. 'IJohnv. 1.

* Gal. iii. 26. 6 2 pet. i. 4.

THE believer's SAFETY 217

adoption which takes place among men, but there is a
wide difference. With men children are transferred
to a family to which they do not belong by birthright,
and treated as if they had been born in the household
that now shelters them ; but God adopts His own
children, having first made them " partakers of the
divine nature " by the power of His Spirit through
faith in the promises of His word. Hence it is
written, " Ye have not received the spirit of bondage
again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of
adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." * " God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the
law, to redeem them that were under the law, that
we might receive the adoption of sons. And because
ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son
into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." ^

IS'o man can say to God, " Abba, Father," unless
he is born again by believing that Jesus is the Christ ;
and when the unregenerate mumble the words, " Our
Father which art in heaven," they offer a worship not
a whit more intelligent or acceptable than the prostra-
tion of the native African before his fetich. " Be not
deceived ; God is not mocked ; " ^ for " he that honoreth
not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent
him." ^ Those who pray without faith in the Son of
the Father's love may be very religious, as the Atheni-
ans Avere who reared an altar to the unknown
GOD, but surely they are not Christians ; and the dif-
ference between being a Christian and being religious

1 Rom. viii. 15. "^G^A. iv. 4, 6.

»Gal. vi. 7. ^Johnv. 23.

218 THE WAY MADE PLAIX

is just the difference there is between light and dark-
ness, between heaven and hell. On the other hand,
whosoever believeth on Christ is surely born of God ;
and the thought that God can suffer His own child —
a part of Himself, if I may so speak — to be eternally
lost, is too monstrous to be entertained for a moment.
If you are a father or a mother, you know what it is
to love a little child, although the helpless babe may
be nothing but an expense to you, and may not at all
respond to your love. Your death would not disturb
its happiness, nor would it retain the slightest recol-
lection of you, and yet you hang over it with unutter-
able affection and tenderness. What, then, must be
the love of God for His children, redeemed by the
blood of His only begotten Son, although they do so
little in His service and feel so faintly His claims
upon their gratitude ! " Can a woman forget her
sucking child, that she should not have compassion on
the son of her womb ? yea, they may forget, yet will
I not forget thee." * This language was addressed to
the Israelites as such, but it may be applied without
the slightest strain to every one who is born again in
the present or church dispensation. I will go further,
and state that God loves you, if you are a believer, as
He loves His " well-beloved Son." Do not be staggered
at such an assertion, but open wide your heart to re-
ceive the blessed truth ; for the Saviour says in His
touching prayer for all His disciples, " I in them,
and thou in me, that they may be made perfect
in one ; and that the world may know that thou

^ Isa. xlix. 15.

THE believer's SAFETY 219

hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast
loved me." '

To this must be added the work of the Holy Spirit ;
and in glancing at it you need to be guarded at the
outset against two errors into which many sincere be-
lievers are led to their own disquietude and distress.
The first arises from the common mistake of seeking
amid the fruits of the Spirit for the ground of peace.
It can never be found there. It is not the Spirit's
work in us, but Christ's work for us, that delivers us
from condemnation and places us on the heavenward
side of the cross beyond Judgment ; and it is only by
looking at Christ's finished work instead of the Spirit's
unfinished work that we can find perfect repose of
conscience and heart. The second error arises from
the still more common mistake of thinking, or, at
least, of practically acting, about the Spirit as if He
came on occasional and uncertain visits to the believer,
in place of knowing that He abides with us forever.
Many Christians are continually singing and praying,
"Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove," but He is al-
ready come. They may say they know this, and do
not intend to intimate that He is really absent from
them, but it is very important to avoid the use of
language that does not express the precise truth on
such a subject. Owing to the constant employment
of incorrect language, even admitting a correct knowl-
edge lying back of it, it has come to pass that multi-
tudes are guilty of the fearful sin of regarding the
Spirit rather as an influence than as a Divine person,

1 John xvii. 23.

220 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

and multitudes more look upon Him as a cloud mov-
ing about from one church to another, or visiting
some sections of the country with His refreshing
presence, while other sections are necessarily left
during His absence parched and desolate.

When our Lord was about to take His departure
from the earth He said to His disciples, *' I will pray
the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,
that he may abide with you forever ; even the Spirit
of truth ; whom the world cannot receive, because it
seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know
him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in
you." * " What ? know ye not that yom^ body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which
ye have of God, and ye are not your own ? " ^ " In
whom [Christ] also, after that ye believed, ye were
sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." ^ The seal-
ing, then, with the Holy Spirit, not only marks the
believer as God's property, but renders him perfectly
secure, and is the " earnest of our inheritance," part
of the inheritance already bestowed, as a Divine
guarantee that all the rest will be given in due
time, " for the gifts and calling of God are ^vithout
repentance." ^ The Spirit, who abideth with us for-
ever, who is in us, and who seals us unto the day of
redemption, is never taken from us ; and we would
be far more profitably engaged if, instead of praying
and singing, " Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove," we
laid to heart the solemn admonition of the Sacred

1 John xiv. 16, 17. 2 j Cor. vi. 19.

' Eph. i. 13. ♦ Eom. xi. 29.

221

Scriptures addressed to Christians, '^ Grieve not the
holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the
day of redemption." ^ What we are called to do is
to judge ourselves according to the word of Truth,
and to put away all that the word shows Us is a grief
to the Holy Spirit : " For if we would judge ourselves,
we should not be judged. But when we are judged,
we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be
condemned with the world." ^ It is a sweet truth that
the Lord judges and chastens His children not to con-
demn them, but to reclaim them from their wanderings ;
and the moment they repent of the evil into which
they have been betrayed the Spirit again manifests
the blessedness and energy of Llis presence. That
Spirit never withdraws from true believers, and His
permanent abode in their hearts becomes therefore
the sure pledge of their salvation.

But it niay be asked whether the consciousness of in-
dwelling sin and the slow and irregular growth of
most Christians in sanctification are not arguments
against the abiding presence of the Holy Ghost, and
hence against the believer's perfect safety ? That they
are not will be apparent if you will keep in mind who
and what the believer is. As shown in a previous
chapter, he is a child of man and at the same time a
child of God. He has two natures, one born of the
flesh and the other of the Spirit ; one called the " old
man," and the other the "new man." "The flesh
lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh : and these are contrary the one to the other." ^

1 Eph. iv. 30. « 1 Cor. xi. 31, 32. ^ Qaj. v, 17.

222 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

As long, therefore, as the flesh is in him he will have
a consciousness of sin in him ; but if he is an intelligent
believer, he will not have a conscience of sins on him^
"because that the worshippers once purged should
have had no more conscience of sins." * Christ hath
" appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of him-
self ; " * and if it is put away, it can no longer be on
the believer. " Who his own self bare our sins in his
own body on the tree ; " ^ and if He bare them in His
own body, surely they cannot be on us. The con-
demning power of sin, therefore, or its power to des-
troy, is forever gone, even while its presence in the
old nature is still a source of mortification and annoy-
ance. Suppose an enormous serpent should spring
upon you from its covert and fold you in its horrid
embrace, but as it was preparing, with glittering eye
and darting tongue, to inflict the fatal sting, a friend
standing near, by a well-directed blow, severed its
head from the body, and it fell dead around your neck
and arms. If you could not get rid of it immediately,
but were compelled to carry it about for a while, its
presence would doubtless distress and disgust you, and
sometimes wring from you the anxious cry, " O
wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from
the body of this death ? " ^ but you would know that
it could no longer kill or injure you ; " Likewise reckon
ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin ; " ^
" knowing this, that our old man is [icas] crucified
with him [Christ] , that the body of sin might be des-

1 Heb. X. 2. » Heb. ix. 26. » 1 Pet. ii. 24.

* Rom. vii. 24. « Rom. vi. 11.

THE BELIEVEE'S SAFETY 223

troyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin ; " *
" for sin shall not have dominion over you : for ye are
not under the law, but under grace." ^ The conscious-
ness of indwelling sin, therefore, cannot shake the se-
curity of the believer, because the Holy Spirit also
dwells in him, the author and upholder of the " new
creature " in Christ Jesus, and sweetly whispers to his
troubled heart, " The God of peace shall bruise Satan
under your feet shortly." ^

In close connection with this, it may be useful to
call your attention for a moment to the feeble and
varying progress in sanctification which is a source of
grief and dread to so many true Christians. They are
perplexed and pained when they think of this impor-
tant doctrine, because they view it only on one side, not
remembering that, like almost every other truth of
God's word, it has two sides, each of which must be
carefully considered. If you look at justification, for
example, you will find Paul arguing that on the Divine
side, or in God's sight, it is by faith alone, while
James argues that on the human side, or in man's
sight, it is by works also. So on the Divine side, or
in God's sight, our sanctification is by the blood of
Christ, and complete as soon as we believe on Him,
while on the human side, or in man's sight, it is pro-
gressive and carried on by the Holy Spirit dwelling in
us and enabling us " more and more to die unto sin,
and live unto righteousness."

The fundamental idea, as well as the object, of Sanc-
tification, i^ fitness for the Divine presence and service,

1 Rom. vi. 6. « Rom. vi. 14. ' Rom. xvi. 20.

224 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

and it is in this sense the word is used when I affirm
that such fitness we have the moment we are in Chi'ist
by faith. IS'ow, if you will turn to the Epistle to the
Corinthians, you will see that the apostle addresses
" the Church of God which is at Corinth, to them that
are sanctified in Christ Jesus." ' He is about to rebuke
them for erroneous doctrines and evil practices, but still
he does not hesitate to write to them as those that are
sanctified. We look a little farther and read, " Of
him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us
wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and re-
demption." ^ Christ, then, is as much our sanctifica-
tion as He is our wisdom, righteousness, and redemp-
tion. Many separate these words most unwarrantably,
referring righteousness to Christ, but sanctification to
ourselves, admitting that we must depend on Christ
for righteousness, but supposing that we must depend
upon our own exertions for sanctification ; seeing
clearly that we are justified by faith, but not seeing
that we are sanctified by faith.

When our risen Lord appeared to Saul of Tarsus, on
the road to Damascus, and converted him from the
error of his way. He du^ected the regenerated perse-
cutor to preach to the Gentiles, " that they may re-
ceive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them
which are sanctified by faith that is in me." ^ It is not
surprising, then, that this apostle, in writing to certain
Christians, some of whom, he declares, had been
fornicators, and idolaters, and adulterers, and thieves,
and drunkards, should so boldly add, "But ye are

» 1 Cor. i. 2. '1 Cor. i. 30. ^ Acts xxvi. 18.

THE believer's SAFETY 225

washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our
God." ' They were as truly and completely sanctified
as they were washed and justified. Accordingly, it is
said that the Saviour came to do the will of God, " by
the which will we are sanctified through the offering
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." ^ " For by
one offering he hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified." ^ " Wherefore Jesus also, that he might
sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered with-
out the gate." ^ Hence the word of God places our
justification and our sanctification on precisely the
same Divine and immutable foundation, even the
precious blood of Jesus. We are not partly justified,
neither are we partly sanctified, and you have no bet-
ter right to put the word '' partly " before the word
" sanctified," as it applies to the believer, than you have
to put it before the word " justified."

The moment we are in Christ by believing on Him,
God says we are sanctified — not shall be, nor try to
be, nor hope to be, but '' Ye are sanctified." ]N"ot
only is it true that the justice of the satisfied law
brings no accusation against us, but the hoKness of the
law finds no spot nor stain upon us ; no, not the
slightest. We are " clean every whit " — as clean as
the blood of Christ and the will of God can make us.
When we receive the Saviour by faith we do not re-
ceive a divided Saviour, but " Christ is all, and in all." ^
He is wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and re-

» 1 Cor. vi. 11. » Heb. x. 10. » Heb. x. 14.

* Heb. xiii. 12. « Col. iii. 11.

226 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

demption, and sanctification no less than everything
else the soul needs. It is forgetf ulness or ignorance
of this blessed truth that leads so many sincere be-
lievers to doubt their safety, and opens the way for
Satan to cast the shadows of a deep gloom along the
path of their pilgrimage. They are seeking for com-
fort in a gradual sanctification instead of an offered
sacrifice — in a progressive work of holiness in them in-
stead of an accomplished work of redemption already
done for them. They will never find it thus. On the
other hand, they will surely discover that the " flesh "
is always the " flesh," and that the " old man " will be
deceitful and desperately wicked to the end of the jour-
ney. But when we put on the " new man " our place and
portion are in the heavenlies, and our position before
God is perfect in every respect, for " we are in him
that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ." * The
practical results of this perfect sanctification will be
more and more perfectly developed in the sight of
men, and shine more and more unto the perfect day ;
but it is the happy privilege of the Christian to know
that by the one offering of Christ he is perfected for-
ever as already sanctified, and therefore, whatever
conflicts and defeats he may meet on the way, it is
still true that " whosoever belie veth on him shall not
be ashamed."

The limits which I have assigned to this chapter
forbid a farther discussion of the subject at present,
but it will come up again when w^e consider the
promises addressed to the believer calling on the

1 1 John V. 20.

THE believer's SAFETY 227

Lord. Enough, however, has been said to convince
3^oUj if you will receive the testimony of the word of
Truth, that all, without exception, who trust in Jesus,
are now and forever saved ; for " God, willing more
abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the
unmutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath ;
that by two immutable things [his promise and his
oath], in which it was impossible for God to lie, we
might have a strong consolation, who have fled for
refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us : which
hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and
steadfast, and which entereth into that within the
veil ; whither the forerunner is for us entered, even
Jesus, made a high priest forever, after the order of
Melchisedek." '

''• I hear the words of love,
I gaze upou the blood,
I see the mighty Sacrifice,
And I have peace with God.

"• 'Tis everlasting peace,

Sure as Jehovah's name ;
'Tis stable as His steadfast throne ;
Forevermore the same.

*^ The clouds may go and come,

And storms may sweep my sky :
This blood-sealed friendship changes not j
The cross is ever nigh.

" My love is ofttimes low,

My joy still ebbs and flows ;
But peace with Him remains the same :
No change Jehovah knows.

» Heb. vi. 17-20.

228 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

^^ That which can shake the cross
May shake the peace it gave,
Which tells me Christ has never died,
Or never left the grave.

" I change, He changes not ;
The Christ can never die ;
His love, not mine, the resting-place ;
His truth, not mine, the tie."

CHAPTEE XYII
THE BELIEVER CALLING O^ THE LOED

"For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek : for
the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. " — Bo'
mans x. 12.

WHEN Peter was directed by the Spirit to visit
the Eoman centurion, Cornelius, in the city of
Cesarea, he listened with amazement to the statements
of the Gentile officer, and then opened his mouth and
said, " Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter
of persons ; but in every nation he that feareth him,
and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." '
Of course he did not mean to teach that the fear of
God and our personal works of righteousness form the
ground or reason of our acceptance, for such a doc-
trine would not only contradict the whole tenor of
Sacred Scripture, but it would be in direct conflict
with the apostle's own testimony on this very occa-
sion. At the close of the address of which the words
just quoted are the beginning, after speaking of the
death and resurrection of Jesus, he adds, " To him
give all the prophets witness, that through his name
whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of
sins." ^ He could not, therefore, be guilty of the ab-
surdity of affirming in one breath that we are saved
by our fear of God and works of righteousness, and

> Acts X. 34, 35. 2 Acts x. 43.

229

230 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

in another breath that we are saved according to the
witness of all the prophets only through faith in Chi'ist.
He obviously designed to assert that whatever is ac-
ceptable to Jehovah in one nation is acceptable in any
other, without reference to the ground of acceptance.
Man's filial fear of God and works of righteousness
are nowhere in the Bible presented as the cause, but
as the consequence, of acceptance. They are not the
conditions on which salvation is bestowed, but the
fruits of salvation received.

These fruits, however, are not now confined to the
land of Palestine, " for there is no difference between
the Jew and the Greek." Once saving mercy was re-
vealed to a single race, but when " God was manifest
in the flesh," ' to accomplish human redemption, grace
overflowed, as it were, the narrow bounds, and spread
like a sea of glory from pole to pole. In the lan-
guage of Dr. Chalmers, commenting on the words
placed at the head of this chapter, the precious truth
here announced " invests with an ample warrant the
messengers of salvation, who might go forth the
bearers of a full and unexpected commission, to assail
even a whole world lying in wickedness and uncon-
cern, by plying with the overtures of a free salvation,
each and every individual of the great human family.
God, it is said here, makes no difference between the
Jew and the Greek ; and there are some who, in de-
fending the articles of their own scientific theology,
would make the universality of the Gospel offer lie in
this, that now, when the middle waU of partition is

1 1 Tim. iii. 16.

THE BELIEVEE CALLING ON THE LOED 231

broken down, it might be offered to men of every na-
tion. But the scriptural theology carries the univer-
sality farther down than this — and so as that the Gospel
might be offered, not merely to men of every nation,
but to each man of every nation. God is not only no
respecter of nations, He is no respecter of persons. It
is not only whatsoever nation shall call on the name
of the Lord shall be saved, but whatsoever man of
that nation shall call upon the name of the Lord, he
shall be saved."

The word Lord as a title descriptive of God always
refers in the Xew Testament to Jesus Christ, except
in the few instances where the context shows that the
Father or the Holy Ghost is meant. When, there-
fore, it is written, " The same Lord over all is rich
unto all that call upon him," our minds are to turn
particularly to the Second person of the adorable
Trinity, though, of course, not to the exclusion of the
First and Third persons. What one does the others
do, and the purposes and resources of one are the pur-
poses and resources of the others. But because of
Christ's atoning death on the cross, " God also hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is
above every name : that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth ; and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father." ' The Spirit of truth
also, says the Saviour, " shall not speak of himself ;
but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak ; and
1 Phil. ii. 9-11.

232 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

he will show you things to come. He shall glorify
me ; for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it
unto you." ' Both of these Divine persons, then, re-
joice to see the Son honored, and listen, no doubt,
with delight to the voices of believers singing the
noble hymn :

All hail the power of Jesus' name !

Let angels prostrate fall ;
Bring forth the royal diadem,

To crown Him Lord of all."

It is a sweet consolation to many souls, burdened
with the crushing memory of some past crime or with
the heavy sorrows of life, to feel that they can go
with their confessions and supplications directly to
" the second man, the Lord from heaven." ^ If they
are trusting in Him ulone for salvation, they can un-
derstand the cheering language of the inspired apostle
when he says, " Seeing, then, that we have a great
high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the
son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we
have not a high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us there-
fore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." ^
An unconverted friend of mine, in extreme sickness
and suffering, replied to a visitor who urged him to
look to God for help, " Do not talk to me about God,
whom I cannot comprehend, but tell me about Jesus,

1 Jobu xvi. 13, 14. 2 1 Cor. xv. 47 » Heb. iv. 14-16.

THE BELIEVER CALLING ON THE LORD 233

for my thoughts can grasp one who as a man has the
experience and sympathies of a man." His language
is not to be approved, for the Saviour says, " He that
hath seen me hath seen the Father ; " ^ and as this Sa-
viour is called " the word," ^ He sustains to the unseen
Father the same relation that a word does to thought :
He is God expressed or uttered, if I may so speak,
" for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily." '

Still, without detracting in the slightest degree from
the infinite love and tenderness of the Father, there
are periods in our history which drive us with our pe-
titions more immediately to Him who knew, as we
know, the force of fierce temptations, and who, " when
he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the
right hand of the Majesty on high." ^ " For verily he
took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on
him the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it
behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that
he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins
of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered
being tempted, he is able to succor them that are
tempted." ^ All that call upon Him in all their mani-
fold trials and various troubles address their supplica-
tions to a gracious Lord who trod the rough path they
are required to follow, and hence can enter into their
feelings, share their sufferings, and pity their infirmi-
ties. A number of persons may assemble at a funeral,

^ John xiv. 9. 2 jojin j i a q^i jj g^

4 Heb. i. 3. ^ Heb. ii. 16-18.

234 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

and all of them will know that the mother or wife
who is weeping by the side of her dead is sorely be-
reaved, but they who have endured a similar affliction
will know it in a different sense from the others and
utter their words of condolence with a deeper mean-
ing. So the Lord on whom we call, and '' who in the
days of his flesh, when he had ofifered up prayers and
supplications with strong crying and tears unto him
that was able to save him from death," ^ has a personal
and practical acquaintance with the anxieties and cares
to which His disciples are exposed, and whispers to
their troubled hearts words of most precious sympathy.
"In all their affliction he was afflicted."^ "Surely
he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." ^
" Himself took om^ infirmities, and bare our sick-
nesses." ^

But you will observe that only believers can truly
call on Hun : for unless we believe that He died for
our sins, and rose again for our justification, and now
liveth to make intercession for us, Head over all things
to the Church, King of kings, and Lord of lords, it is
impossible to present our petitions before His throne.
When, therefore, we pray to Him, we are praying to
One whom it is our duty to honor in all respects even
as we honor the Ancient of days from whose bosom
He came down into our world ; though it is a more ex-
act definition of Christian prayer to say that it is the sin-
cere expression of our hearts' desires to God the Father,
in the name of God the Son, for those things that are

^ Heb. V. 7. ' Isa. Ixiii. 9.

' Isa. liii. 4. * Matt. viii. 17.

THE BELIEVER CALLING OX THE LOPwD 235

suggested to us by God the Holy Ghost. " Likewise
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities : for we know
not what we should pray for as we ought : but the
Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered." ^ Again, our Saviour de-
clares, " Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that
will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it."^
Here, then, we learn that the Spirit helpeth our in-
firmities by showing us what we should pray for as
we ought, and that our supplications are to be offered
in the name of Jesus, who speaks as a mighty God
and promises to do whatsoever we thus ask. Hence
the important question at once arises, What is it to
ask in the name of Jesus ? Is it merely to say at the
conclusion of our prayers, " This we ask in the name
or for the sake of Jesus " ? Surely not.

Suppose you were exceedingly anxious to obtain a
favor from an earthly potentate, but knew that you
had no influence whatever in his court, and that you
could not even gain admittance into his presence
without the aid of others. In this extremity you go
to a friend who stands higher in the esteem of the
monarch than all other persons in the realm, and who
is deeply interested in the success of your suit. He
gives you a letter of introduction and recommenda-
tion, warmly espousing your cause. With such a let-
ter you may command easy access to the throne, and
while urging your request you are but expressing the
known wishes of your powerful friend, and represent-

1 Rom. viii. 26. ^ joi^n ^iv. 13, 14.

236 THE WAY SrADE PLAIN

ing him indeed in the audience-chamber of the
sovereign. You are speaking as he would have you
speak, as he would speak if he were in your place,
and your petition is granted because it is understood
to convey the desires of one who may not be denied.
Suppose you should present your check with nothing
but your own signature upon it at the counter of a
bank where not a cent was on deposit to your credit.
Of course it would be instantly rejected, but if you
should return and exhibit a check signed by a friend
who had thousands stored away in the coffers of the
association, it would be promptly accepted and paid,
because you would appear in the name and as the rep-
resentative of another who was entitled to the high-
est consideration.

In like manner, if you attempt to approach the
eternal throne in your own name or depending for ac-
ceptance upon the fact that you pray, we well know
the result, for God's word says, " He that turneth
away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer
shall be abomination." * " If I regard iniquity in my
heart," says the Psalmist, " the Lord will not hear
me." ^ " The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomina-
tion to the Lord : but the prayer of the upright is his
delight." ^ Now, the fact is we have all turned away
the ear from hearing the law ; we have all regarded
iniquity in the heart, and continue to regard it until
born again through faith in Christ, for it is the crown-
ing sin of man's innumerable transgressions that he
refuses to believe on Jesus ; we all bring forward, in

* Prov. xxviii. 9. « Ps. Ixvi. 18. ^ Prov. xv. 8.

THE BELIEVEE CALLING ON" THE LOED 237

our vain religiousness, the sacrifice of the wicked, and
never present the prayer of the upright until we are
made the righteousness of God in His dear Son. But
when we receive and rest upon Him alone for salva-
tion as He is freely offered to us in the Gospel, then
He gives us His own standing before the Father's
throne ; then we know what it is to pray in His name ;
for God sees us in Him, and hears in our prayer His
voice, for He and we are one ; we representing Him
in the presence of God ; to pray sustained by the in-
finite merits of His atoning blood ; to pray endorsed
by Him as His friends and brethren ; to pray, as
He would have us pray, under the suggestions and
teachings of His blessed Spirit abiding with us for-
ever.

Hence we see how fearfully abused and perverted is
that beautiful form of supplication commonly called
the Lord's Prayer. The meaningless jargon of the
rudest heathenism is not a more shocking mockery of
true and acceptable worship than is the manner in
which multitudes in Christian lands are in the habit
of saying, " Our Father which art in heaven." Thou-
sands of the unregenerate, who are bound, soul and
body, to the world by the ties of an idolatrous attach-
ment, and who rush with mad eagerness from one
scene to another of God-forgetting and God-defying
revelry, hope to gain the ear of the Almighty by the
utterance of this sublime language, and thus lull the
conscience into the fatal slumber of a profounder in-
sensibility. They do not seem to know that we are
the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus, and

238 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

hence that believers alone can say with any propriety,
" Our Father which art in heaven." One single peti-
tion in this wonderful prayer would consign them to
perdition if answered. Let any man intelligently and
sincerely address the Searcher of hearts with the
words, " Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors ; " and if he depends on this for salvation, he
simply invokes destruction upon himself ; for if the
Divine forgiveness is extended to him only as he ex-
tends forgiveness to those indebted to him, a moment's
serious reflection will convince him that he is hope-
lessly lost. But even if we were able to forgive
others as fully and freely as we desire God toiorgive us,
still this could not be the meritorious cause of our
salvation, miless the whole work of Christ is in vain,
and unless the whole Bible from Genesis to Eevela-
tion is an idle fable, for it declares in every conceiv-
able form of statement that " without shedding of
blood is no remission." *

The name of Jesus is nowhere mentioned in the
prayer, and it was plainly intended only for His
disciples in their circumstances at that particular
time. It was given to them before He became the
end of the law for righteousness to every one that be-
lieveth, and opened a new and living way of access to
the Father through the veil, that is to say, His flesh.
There is not the slightest allusion to it in any of the
inspired Epistles, nor is there the slightest reason to
suppose that it was designed for permanent use, al-
though it must forever remain unspeakably precious
1 Heb. ix. 22.

THE BELIEVER CALLIT^G Oli THE LORD 239

to the Christian because it is in the words of our
Lord, and contains a remarkable summary of the
petitions proper for those who are ab-eady saved
through the merits of His blood. We have His own
authority for asserting that He did not require its
continued employment after His death, and resurrec-
tion, and the descent of the Holy Ghost ; for when
He was about to take His departure from the disciples
He addressed them thus : " Yerily, verily, I say unto
you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name,
he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing
in my name : ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy
may be full." ^ Again, " At that day ye shall ask in
my name." ' At what day ? The day when the
promised Spirit should come to teach them the true
nature of His kingdom, and of their mission, and to
gather out of the world a church to be builded to-
gether for a habitation of God. After that day the
disciples had very different views of the purpose of
Christ's first advent to earth, and of the testimony
of the Gospel, and of their oneness with the Saviour ;
and therefore the prayer which they used as children
slowly learning the alphabet of Christianity could not
suitably and fully express their enlarged desires when
enlightened by the Holy Ghost to behold the match-
less worth of the name of Jesus.

Praying in that name, they had the positive, un-
mistakable assurance that whatsoever they asked He
would do it that the Father might be glorified in the
Son. It is so still ; and if we would only pray in the

^ John xvi. 23, 24. ^ j^j^q ^^^^ 26.

240 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

consciousness of our complete acceptance in Christ,
and as expressing His mind and will, we could remove
mountains, and nothing should be impossible unto us.
Such prayer, though breathed by the prisoner in his
lonely dungeon or lisped by the tongue of infancy,
goes rushing across the universe, " mighty through
God to the pulling down of strong holds ; " ' swifter
than the lightning ; more powerful than the hur-
ricane. " Elias was a man subject to like passions as
we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not
rain : and it rained not on the earth by the space of
three years and six months. And he prayed again,
and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought
forth her fruit." ^ " All things, whatsoever ye shall
ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."^ "Ask,
and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye shall find ;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you : for every one
that asketh receiveth ; and he that seeketh findeth ;
and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or
what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread,
will he give him a stone ? Or if he ask a fish, will he
give him a serpent ? If ye then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much
more shall your Father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him ? " *

These promises, and scores of others like them that
could be quoted, are to be taken in their plain, obvious
sense, and they are not to be fettered by human doubt
nor explained away by human criticism. The Sacred

i2Cor. X. 4. ajamesv. 17, 18.

'Matt. xxi. 22. «Matt. vii. 7-11.

THE BELIEVER CALLING ON THE LORD 241

Scriptures are full of striking illustrations which prove
that God means precisely what He says when He de-
clares that " the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
man availeth much," ^ " for the same Lord over all is
rich unto all that call upon him." He is rich in all
the plenitude of the Divine perfections ; rich in the
absolute control of His boundless empire that in all
its shining suns and countless systems, in all its loftiest
intelligences and minutest forms of life, is subject to
His imperial command ; and rich in the inexhaustible
fulness of His love to believers of every race and
rank. He possesses omnipotence, and is able therefore
to help His people who call on Him : " For by him
were all things created, that are in heaven, and that
are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be
thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers :
all things were created by him, and for him : and he
is before all things, and by him all things consist." ^
" All power," He says, " is given unto me in heaven
and in earth ; " ^ and He proclaims Himself to be the
" Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is
to come, the Almighty." ^

He possesses omniscience, and can therefore foresee
and guard against all the schemes of devils and all the
contingencies of human events that may threaten to
arrest the bestowal of His purposed and promised
blessings upon His disciples. " Even the very hairs
of your head are all numbered," ^ He says ; and, "• I

1 James v. 16. ^qqI^ i^ 16^ 17^ SMatt. xxviii. 18.

* Rev. i. 8. ^ Luke xii. 7.

242 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

am he which searcheth the reins and hearts," ^ He de-
clares. ^' Lord," exclaimed Peter, " thou knowest all
things;"^ and hence it is evident that His mind is
perfectly familiar with all that has occmTed in the
past, and all that shall occur in the future ; and takes
knowledge not only of the march of tempests, the
revolution of planets and the rise and fall of empires,
but also of the silent budding of a rose and the noise-
less flight of an insect. Like the ocean,

^^ Vast as it is, it answers as it flows,
The breathing of the lightest air that blows."

He possesses unchangeable faithfulness, and there-
fore we may rely upon His word with implicit con-
fidence. " Faithful is he that calleth you, who also
will do it," ^ writes the apostle. " The Lord is faith-
ful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil." *
'' Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without
wavering (for he is faithful that promised)." ^ " And
I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse ; and
he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True." ®
He possesses infinite love for those who have been re-
deemed with His precious blood, and therefore cannot
deny them any petition which it is best for them to
receive. " Having loved his own which were in
the world, he loved them unto the end." ^ " Greater
love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his

^ Rev. ii. 23. ^ j^jjn ^xi. 17. » 1 Thess. v. 24.

* 2 Thess. iii. 3. ^ Hg^^ j.. 23. « Rev. xix. 11.

' John xiii. 1.

THE BELIEVER CALLING ON THE LORD 243

life for his friends." ' " He that loveth me shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will
manifest myself to him." ^ " As the Father hath
loved me, so have I loved you." ^ " The life which I
now live in the flesh," says Paul, " I live by the faith
of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself
for me." ^ " Christ also loved the church, and gave
himself for it." ^

Oh, how rich He is in His own eternal and immeas-
urable resources to all that call on Him ! There is
no possible condition in which we can be placed that
may deprive us of the privilege of prayer ; and quick
as thought can ascend to our Lord at the right hand
of the Father, His eye is turned towards our longing
glance and His heart responds to our trustful desire.
" And this is the confidence that we have in him,
that, if we ask anything according to his will, he
heareth us : and if we know that he hear us, whatso-
ever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that
we desired of him." ^ He " is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think," ' for the
name by which He introduced Himself to Moses in the
solitudes of Horeb, and the name that is still appro-
priate to Him, is the I am. As another has beauti-
fully said, in taking this title He was " furnishing His
people with a blank check to be filled up to any
amount. He calls Himself I am, and faith has but
to write over against that ineffably precious name

* John XV. 13. 2 John xiv. 21. ^ jqi^ ^v. 9.

* Gal. ii. 20. ^ ^ph. v. 25. « 1 John v. 14, 15.

' Eph. iii. 20.

244 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

whatever we want." Do we w^ant pardon, justifica-
tion, adoption, sanctification, support in weakness,
consolation in sorrow, guidance in perplexity, deliver-
ance from temptation, victory over death, full redemp-
tion, and unfading glory ? I AM all this, says Christ,
and all that you desire.

CHAPTER XYHI
THE BELIEVEE CALLING ON THE LOBD

IN the light of this precious truth every believer
may be addressed in the language of Elisha to '' a
certain woman of the wives of the sons of the proph-
ets," who was reduced to the last pot of oil, and
whose sons were about to be taken by the creditor as
bondmen. "Go," he said, "borrow thee vessels
abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels ; bor-
row not a few." ' With faith in the word of God
spoken by His servant, she obeyed the direction, and
it was only when there was not a vessel more that the
oil stayed. So, when we can go to the Lord emptied
of self and the world, and relying with implicit con-
fidence upon His promises, we shall receive from His
inexhaustible resources " above all that we ask or
think," and ^never until faith fails will the supplies
which it commands cease. By a law more fixed and
more unalterable than the law of gravitation, God has
determined that whatsoever we ask in the name of
Jesus, it shall be done for us. It may be that the
instrumentality by which this amazing result is pro-
duced was included from the first in the department
men call " natural," and that it belonged to the origi-
nal, comprehensive plan which embraced the physical
arrangement and government of the earth ; but with-

* 2 Kings iv. 3.
245

246 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

out undertaking to discuss such a question, about the
result itself there is not the shadow of doubt. Prayer
ascends from an earnest heart for those things that
are according to the will of our Lord ; and without
the slightest disturbance in the delicate mechanism of
the universe, without the faintest discord in the
" music of the spheres," as softly and silently as the
snowflake falls from heaven, as certainly and surely
as the ripened fruit drops from the shaken bough to
the outstretched hand beneath, does it call down bless-
ings upon the believing suppliant.

We are never straitened in God, but only in our-
selves ; for when temptations assail, or troubles arise,
we too often fail to put Christ, by faith, between them
and us, and too often through unbelief put them be-
tween Christ and us, so that we lose courage and
power. Ten of the twelve spies who were sent from
all the tribes of Israel to search out the land of
Canaan returned in great fear, saying, " AVe be not
able to go up against the people ; for they are stronger
than we. . . . And there we saw the giants, the
sons of Anak, which come of the giants ; and we were
in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in
their sight." * But Caleb endeavored to quiet the
alarmed congregation with the bold language, " Let
us go up at once and possess it ; for we are well able
to overcome it," and Joshua and Caleb thus warned
and encouraged their brethren : " Only rebel not ye
against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the
land ; for they are bread for us ; their defence is de-

^ Num. xiii. 31-33.

THE BELIEVER CALLIIs^G ON THE LOKD 247

parted from them, and the Loed is with us : fear
them not." * The ten fixed their minds upon the
giants, not the Lord, and therefore could think of
nothing but disaster, defeat, and death, while the two
believers fixed their minds upon the Lord, not the
giants, and therefore could think of nothing but de-
liverance, and success, and victory. The former were
already unmanned because they looked not to the hills
whence cometh our help, but the latter cared not
whether their conflict lay with giants or grasshoppers,
because they could confidently say, " They that be
with us are more than they that be with them." " So
when David was sent by his father, from attending a
" few sheep in the wilderness," with parched corn and
loaves of bread to his brothers in the Hebrew army,
he found the host of Israel trembling at the boastful
challenge of Goliath of Gath. Having obtained per-
mission to meet the monster in mortal combat, he
threw off the armor of Saul, in which faith could not
freely move, and taking with him five smooth stones
out of the brook and his sling in his hand, he went
forth without the slightest trepidation. Saul and his
soldiers thought only of Goliath, and were afraid, but
David thought only of Jehovah^ and hence could
calmly reply to his mail-clad foe, " I come to thee in
the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies
of Israel, whom thou hast defied ; " ^ and the next in-
stant a stone from his sling was buried in the forehead
of the uncircumcised Philistine, and *' he fell upon his
face to the earth."
» Num. xiii. 30 ; xiv. 9. - 2 Kings vi. 16. ' 1 Sam. xvii. 45.

248 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

Whenever Satan can divert our minds from the
Lord to ourselves or to our circumstances, we are sure
to lose h^art and hope, and our prayers will be want-
ing in the essential elements of faith and fervor. Look,
for example, at Moses, who " was very meek, above
all the men which were upon the face of the earth," *
and see how his meekness became weakness, and how
his fortitude gave way to fear, and how he yielded to
discouragement, despondency, and despair the mo-
ment he took his eyes from the Lord to view himself
and his difficulties. " I am not able," he cried, *' to
bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for
me. [The Lord had not asked him to do it.] And
if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of
hand, if I have found favor in thy sight ; and let me
not see my wretchedness." ^ Look at Job, of whom
the Lord said unto Satan, " Hast thou considered my
servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth,
a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God,
and escheweth evil ? " ^ " After this opened Job his
mouth, and cursed his day. And Job spake, and said,
Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night
in which it was said. There is a man child conceived.
Let that day be darkness ; let not God regard it from
above, neither let the light shine upon it." ^ Look at
Elijah, who, as Moses was the meekest man and Job
the most patient, may be called the bravest man on
the earth, and yet, terrified at the threat of a woman
whose powerful husband he had withstood to the face

* Num. xii. 3. * Num. xi. 14, 15.

» Job i. 8. * Job iii. 1-4.

THE BELIEVER CALLING ON THE LORD 249

and humbled into the dust, " he arose, and went for
his life, and came to Beer-she ba, which belongeth to
Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself
went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came
and sat down under a juniper tree : and he requested
for himself that he might die ; and said. It is enough ;
now, O Lord, take away my life ; for I am not better
than my fathers." ^ Look at Jeremiah, who was sanc-
tified before he came out of the womb and ordained
to be a prophet unto the nations, and yet, after all his
experience of the goodness of God, he bitterly ex-
claimed, " Cursed be the day wherein I was born : let
not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.
Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father,
saying, A man child is born unto thee ; making him
very glad. And let that man be as the cities which
the Lord overthrew, and repented not : and let him
hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at
noontide ; because he slew me not from the womb ;
or that my mother might have been my grave, and
her womb to be always great with me. Wherefore
came I forth out of the womb to see labor and sor-
row, that my days should be consumed with shame? " ^
All this shows that Moses was not meek, and that
Job was not patient, and that Elijah was not brave,
and that Jeremiah was not submissive, except as their
thoughts rested on the Lord. The moment their
minds were occupied with themselves or with their
circumstances, the first became irritable, and the
second gave way to self-righteous complaints, and the

^ 1 Kings xix. 3, 4. 2 j^^ ^x. 14-18.

250 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

third was panic-stricken, and the fourth fell into the
depths of despair. Thus do the distinguished men
whose names have been given furnish a striking illus-
tration, not only of the truth previously stated, that
the " flesh " in a believer is no better than the '' flesh "
in an unbeliever, but of the importance of keeping the
eye steadily fixed on the Lord if we would retain
perfect composure of spirit amid our sharpest trials.
Contrast their hasty and intemperate language with
the calm and joyful words of the Son of man at a
period in His earthly ministry darker than any known
to the saints who had longed for His appearing. The
generation that heard His tender messages of love
heaped cruel slanders upon Him, saying, " Behold a
man gluttonous, and a winebibber." Chorazin, Beth-
saida, and Capernaum, that had listened to His mar-
vellous discourses and witnessed His mighty works,
rejected with contempt His gentle entreaties and re-
pelled with anger His solemn admonitions. He stood
alone in the world He came to save, but " at that
time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth. . . . Even so, Father ;
for so it seemed good in thy sight," ' and then im-
mediately followed the sweetest invitation ever ad-
dressed to the weary and sorrowful : '' Come unto me,
all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest." "^ Blessed example ! He kept His gaze
constantly directed to His Father, and therefore noth-
ing could disturb His peace or arrest the stream of
grace that flowed from His loving heart.

' Matt. xi. 25, 26. ^ i^i^tt. xi. 28.

THE BELIEVER CALLING ON THE LORD 251

"We see, then, that we can never know in onr own
experience the riches of the Lord unto all that call
upon Him unless our souls have formed the habit, so
to speak, of looking to Him continually. There are
many who pray " by fits and starts," now wrapped
up in worldliness, and anon at a season of special re-
ligious interest, or under the pressure of some per-
sonal trouble, bethinking them of the God whom they
have long neglected, and then wondering that they do
not receive an immediate answer to their supplications.
The Holy Ghost says, " But let him ask in faith, noth-
ing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave
of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let
not that man think that he shall receive anything of
the Lord." ' The fearfully common sin, even among
professed Christians, of making the glorious God a
convenience or necessity in times of need, when ordi-
narily the mind is carried like a wind-driven wave
hither and thither across the sea of life, may account
for the number of prayers that are offered in vain.
It is the privilege of every child of God to ahide in
the Saviour ; to walk in the light as He is in the light ;
to have fellowship with the Father and with His Son
Jesus Christ ; and to maintain a communion with the
Holy Spirit so intimate and so endearing that prayer
will become as natural as breathing, and almost as
constant. "Men ought always to pray, and not to
faint." ^ '' Pray without ceasing." ^ " Praying al-
ways with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit." ^

* James i. 6, 7. ' Luke xviii. 1.

8 1 Thess. V. 17. * Eph. vi. 18.

252 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

"In everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto
God." '

A Christian servant-girl overheard a number of
ministers discussing the text, " Pray without ceasing,"
and found that at length they appointed one of their
number to prepare an essay upon the subject to be
read at their next meeting. She modestly expressed
surprise to a fellow servant that they should take so
much time about a passage of Scripture so plain and
simple ; and her remark having reached the ears of
one of the ministers, he asked her why she thought it
easy to understand the text. She replied with hu-
mility that it seemed to her believers were compelled
to pray without ceasing, for everything they did re-
minded them of the Saviour and salvation. " When,
for example," she went on to say, " I open my eyes in
the morning, I praise God who hath shined into my
heart to give me the light of the knowledge of His
glory in the face of Jesus Christ. When I dress, I
bless Him for having clothed me in the spotless robe
of His dear Son's righteousness. When I wash my
face, I thank Him for the precious blood that cleans-
eth from all sin. When I kindle the fire, I think of
the cloven tongues like as of fire, and the Holy Ghost
who came down on the day of Pentecost to dwell with
the disciples of Jesus forever. When I sweep the
room, I ask that the Holy Spirit may remove from
me all defilement, and keep me clean through the
word. When I eat my breakfast, I turn my mind to

* Phil. iv. 6.

THE BELIEVER CALLING ON THE LOED 253

the Bread of heaven that daily nourishes my soul ;
and thus in all my little duties there is something
that brings Christ before me and causes me to pray
without ceasing."

If there were more Christians living, like the poor
girl, in close and constant communion with Jesus,
there would be fewer to exclaim, " My leanness, my
leanness, woe unto me ! " * The trouble with too
many of us is that we have learned to ''say our
prayers," as it is significantly called, and to be con-
tented with a parrot-like repetition of words, without
understanding or feeling their real import. Hence
the formality and feebleness of our supplications un-
til the Holy Spirit leads us back into real fellowship
with God, when prayer becomes the delight of the
soul and establishes it in a posture of unceasmg wor-
ship before the throne. Then we can pray continually,
even in the midst of our ordinary pursuits, in walking
the streets, in turning the leaves of a book, in the
pauses of a conversation. Then we can know how it
was Nehemiah found time to pray when the king
asked him a question, and when it was necessary that
he should immediately answer. He was the cup-
bearer of Artaxerxes, and as he took up the wine to
give it unto the monarch on a certain occasion, the
latter noticed the sad expression of his face, and said
to him, " Why is thy countenance sad ? " It would
not do to be sorrowful in the presence of royalty, and
he was forced to confess that he mourned because, as
he writes, " The city, the place of my fathers'

^ Isa. xxiv. 16.

264: THE WAY MAJyi^ PLAIX

sepulchres, lietli waste, and the gates thereof are con-
sumed with fire. Then the king said unto me, For
what dost thou make request ? So I prayed to the
God of heaven ; and I said unto the king, If it please
the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy
sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto
the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build
it." '

He certainly did not go aside to pray, and he cer-
tainly had very little time to call upon the Lord, for
the haughty Persian despot would not brook delay in
response to a question ; and yet between the question
and the reply which promptly followed the Hebrew
captive prayed to the God of heaven. He offered
what is termed ejaculatory prayer, and as the word
ejaculatory comes from a Latin word signifying a dart
or javelin, his prayer darted up instantly to the throne
of Jehovah, and as instantly gained the blessing he
sought. So when our souls are in habitual commun-
ion with God we can flash forth our petitions, as it
were, wherever we may be, and they are borne faster
than by electric wires to the loving heart of the
Saviour who said, " If ye abide in me, and my words
abide in you, ye shall ask what ye T\all, and it shall be
done unto you." ^

But it is important in this connection for the be-
liever to inquire what motive leads him to pray or
what object he hopes to attain. The Holy Ghost
directed the apostle to write, " Ye ask, and receive
not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it

1 Neh. ii. 2-5. ^ joim ^v. 7.

THE BELIEVER CALLING ON THE LORD 255

upon your lusts " [or desires].* There is reason to fear
that through the deceitfulness of the old nature many
Christians often pray merely that their wishes may
be gratified and their comfort promoted, without a
becoming submission to the will of God, and without
a proper regard for His glory. I do not say that it is
wrong, when under the burden of heavy affliction, to
exclaim with the Master in Gethsemane, " O my
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me ; "
but surely it is right to add with the Master, " ISTever-
theless, not as I will, but as thou wilt."^ Still, let us
not be too much troubled about our motive in pray-
ing when there is a sincere desire to honor God ; be-
cause we have the sweet assurance in His word that
" like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord
pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our
frame ; he remembereth that we are dust." ^ I only
desire to put you on your guard " against the wiles of
the devil," ^ and then to encourage you to continue in
prayer with the confident expectation that it will be
answered, even though you may not live to see the
evidence of it in this world. No doubt one of the
most delightful surprises in store for us in heaven will
be the glorious demonstration of the truth that ^' pray-
ing breath was never spent in vain."

I have the authority of a devoted and well-known
minister and author for the following : A Christian
father and mother had a son whom they sought to
bring up "in the nurture and admonition of the

^ James iv. 3. ^ Matt. xxvi. 39.

3 Ps. ciii. 13, 14. 4 Eph. vi. 11.

256 THE WAY MADE PLAIX

Lord," ' and for whom they made contimial supplica-
tion at the throne of grace. As he advanced, how-
ever, in years, he became more and more profligate,
until he completed his disgrace and well-nigh broke
the hearts of his parents by running away from home
and going to sea as a common sailor. On his first voy-
age he was standing upon the bulwarks of the ship,
uttering the most horrible blasphemies, when by a
lurch of the vessel he was tossed into the waves.
Eescued with difficulty, he was brought back appar-
ently lifeless, and every one around his prostrate body
believed that he was dead, except the surgeon, who
Avas moved by some unaccountable impulse to persevere
in efforts to resuscitate him, although all hope seemed
to be gone. His persistent purpose was at length re-
warded by seeing a faint spark of life, which he care-
fully nourished, and at length the young man, opening
his eyes, slowly and deliberately said, " Jesus Christ
has saved my soul." After he had fully recovered the
power of speech, he stated that as he fell into the great
ocean he felt that he was lost forever, and his
multiplied sins came trooping about him like demons
to drag him down into hell ; but suddenly a text which
his father had taught him in his childhood came to his
remembrance : " This is a faithful saying, and worthy
of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners ; of whom I am chief ; " ^ and
while sinking, as he thought, into perdition, he cast
himself upon a gracious Eedeemer. His subsequent
life proved that he was really born again in that
» Eph. vi. 4. ' 1 Tim. i. 15.

THE BELIEVER CALLING OlST THE LORD 257

dreadful moment when the sea closed over his head,
for he returned home to become a faithful and useful
minister of the Gospel, although his salvation was not
more complete after years of service in the cause of
the Saviour than it was the instant he believed on
Him who came to save the chief of sinners.

If he had perished in the water, doubtless his par-
ents would have gone down to the grave fearing that he
had made shipwreck of his soul ; and yet at the second
coming of Jesus they would have been caught up with
him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. " In
the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening with-
hold not thine hand ; for thou knowest not whether
shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both
shall be alike good." ' Eemember for your comfort
that in prayer you are not coming to an unjust Judge
or an unfeeling Governor, from whose unwilling hand
a favor has to be wrung by the force of importunity,
but you are approaching a kind and loving Father,
who is far more willing to bestow upon you things
that are for your good than you are to confer a pleas-
ure upon your child or the dearest friend you have on
earth. It dishonors and grieves Him when His peo-
ple act as did the priests of Baal to whom Elijah said,
" Cry aloud : for he is a god ; either he is talking, or
he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure
he sleepeth, and must be awaked." ^ Why not believe
these precious promises ? " He that keepeth thee will
not slumber." ^ " The eyes of the Lord are upon the
righteous [that is, those who are righteous by faith in

* Eocles. xi. 6. '1 Kiugs xviii. 27. ' Ps. cxxi. 3.

258 THE WAY MADE PLAi:^

Christ], and his ears are open unto their cry." ' " He
hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper." ^
If, therefore, you are troubled in your prayers by
the consciousness of your own sinfulness as well as by
the cares and sorrows arising from other sources, you
know the remedy. Go to Him who never slumbers,
whose ear is always open to your cry, and who is a
mighty helper, and frankly confess your iniquities, for
" if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to for-
give us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous-
ness." ^ This language is addressed only to believers
in Christ, and it points out the way of relief from the
torturing recollection of the errors and evils into
which we have been betrayed. Our relationship to
God as His dear children can never be destroyed,
blessed be His name ! but our communion with Him
may often be disturbed, and the method which He re-
veals to restore that communion is an honest and sin-
cere confession of our faults. He has said," If we con-
fess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,"
and this is enough. Suppose you have been grievously
wronged by one with whom you had lived for years
in confidential and pleasant intercourse. Being con-
vinced of the injustice he has done you, he comes at
length with confession upon his lips asking to be for-
given. You assure him that he is fully forgiven, and
that your relations to each other shall be in the future
as they have been in the past. He goes away, but re-
turns the next day with a sad countenance and sorrow-

' 1 P3. xxxiv. 15. » Heb. xiii. 5, 6. » 1 John i. 9.

THE BELIEVER CALLING OJS" THE LORD 259

ful heart, saying, '' Please forgive me." You reply
that he is already forgiven, and you now repeat the
assurance in all sincerity and love, but he returns the
next day, and the next, and the next, with the same
cry, " Please forgive me." You at once perceive that
his ungenerous suspicion and unbelief would be a more
cruel insult than his original offence, for his conduct
would plainly declare that he looked upon you as a
liar.

God has solemnly declared that ''if we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins," and
" he that believeth not God hath made him a liar." *
He uses the words faithful and just rather than the
words gracious and merciful, because He is addressing
those who are already accepted in the Beloved, of
whom the Saviour says, " He that is washed needeth
not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit." ^
Here we have washed and wash^ but in the original
they are entirely different words. The former was
employed by the Greeks to imply the bathing of the
entire person, but the latter denoted the washing of a
part of the person, as the hands, the face, or the feet.
Among the ancients sandals were worn instead of shoes,
and hence that portion of the feet which was ex-
posed would soon become defiled with the dust of the
earth. If a man had bathed before going to an enter-
tainment, he would not need to bathe again, but his
feet being washed from the defilement contracted by
the way, he would be " clean every whit." So he who
believes upon the sure testimony of God's word that

^ John V. 10. ' John xiii. 10.

260 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth him from all sin is
bathed as to his entire person, and he needeth not to
go back to that blood as if it had lost its efficacy ; and
yet he cannot travel far in this sinful world without
getting his feet, his walk, his ways, polluted by com-
ing into contact with that which is evil. Let him,
then, judge himself in the light of the inspired word,
and discovering thus what is wrong about him, let him
frankly confess his sins, and arise from the confession
knowing that he is " clean every whit."

It only remains to say a word about wandering
thoughts in prayer, of which every Christian, perhaps,
has reason to complain. It may be well that we are
troubled in this way, for he who is acquainted with
his own heart knows his proneness to trust in legalism
or in self-righteousness, in place of resting calmly on
the finished work of Christ. If we could pray with
the fervency and fluency we desire, fixing our minds
intently on the majestic Being whom we address, it is
probable that we would soon be puffed up with a high
conceit of our attainments, and grieve the Spirit of
God whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemp-
tion. Still, it is a sore evil to approach God as sup-
plicants and worshippers while thinking of other ob-
jects ; and it may be of service to suggest that as far
as possible you should pray aloud even in your private
devotions, and especially that you pray frequently,
after reminding yourself that you are about to enter
into the presence of the great King. A hymn on this
subject by Faber has brought comfort to many souls ;
and without adding anything of my own, which the

THE BELIEVER CALLING ON THE LOED 261

limits of the present chapter forbid, I will here tran-
scribe it for the benefit of the reader.

** Ah ! dearest Lord, I cannot pray,
My fancy is not free ;
Unmannerly distractions come,

And force my thoughts from Thee.

^' The world that looks so dull all day
Glows bright on me at prayer.
And plans that ask no thought but then,
Wake up and meet me there.

*^ All nature one full fountain seems
Of dreamy sight and sound.
Which, when I kneel, breaks up its deeds.
And makes a deluge round.

" Old voices murmur in my ear,
New hopes start into life,
And past and future gayly blend
In one bewitching strife.

*^ My very flesh has restless fits ;
My changeful limbs conspire
With all these phantoms of the mind
My inner self to tire.

" I cannot pray ; yet, Lord, Thou know'st
The pain it is to me
To have my vainly struggling thoughts
Thus turn away from Thee.

" Had I, dear Lord, no pleasure found
But in the thought of Thee,
Prayer would have come unsought, and been
A truer liberty.

262 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

" Yet Thou art oft most present, Lord,
In weak, distracted prayer ;
A sinner out of heart with self
Most often finds Thee there.

*^ And prayer that humbles sets the soul
From all illusions free,
And teaches it how utterly,
Dear Lord, it hangs on Thee.

** Ah, Jesus, why should I complain,
And why fear aught but sin ?
Distractions are but outward things j
Thy peace dwells far within.

** These surface-troubles come and go
Like ruffliugs of the sea ;
The deeper depth is out of reach
To all, my God, but Thee.'^

CHAPTEK XIX
ASSURANCE OF FAITH

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved." — Romans x. 13.

NEXT to the inquiry, "What must I do to be
saved ? " ' perhaps the most important question
is, " How may I know I am saved ? " But important
as is this question, there are probably in the Christian
Church very many who have never seriously pon-
dered it, and there are certainly very many more who
are wholly unable to meet it with an intelligent and
satisfactory answer. Such indifference to the interests
of the soul on the part of unbelievers does not sur-
prise us, for they are " dead in trespasses and sins ; " ^
but surely it should cause profound astonishment to
find that there are multitudes claiming to be " the
children of God by faith in Christ Jesus " ^ who are
contented to travel on their way to eternity without
knowing whither they are journeying. What would
you think of a man hurrying along a highway if he
were to inform you that he was escaping from a city
doomed to destruction, and on being asked where he
was going he should quietly reply, " I do not know ;
sometimes I am not without hope that I am going to

1 Acts xvi. 30. 3 Eph. ii. 1. ^Gal. iii. 26.

263

264 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

a place of safety, but generally I have too much
reason to fear that the road I am pursuing leads to
fearful suffering and a terrible death ; and really, I
can tell you nothing about it " ? You would justly
suspect the sincerity or the sanity of such a man, and
yet his supposed reply indicates preciselj^ the state of
thousands who profess to believe that " the wrath of
God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men." '

They say they have listened to the voice of love
warning us "to flee from the wrath to come," ^ but
whether the road they have taken will conduct them
to the unutterable horrors of that wrath, or to the
ineffable glories of heaven, they confess is a matter of
doubt, or at best of vague conjecture. It is the height
of presumption, they think, for one who is perplexed
with the cares and pressed by the engagements of
worldly business to be confident of salvation, and
they imagine that the assurance of forgiveness can be
attained only by a privileged number who devote
their undivided time to religious meditation and study
and prayer. Hence, in ansAver to the question, " How
may I know that I am saved ? " they will either re-
main silent or reply that we can never know it unless
we are conscious of superior holiness, and of fervent
love for God, and of unceasing fidelity in His service.
In other words, they make the reply to the question
depend upon something done hy us, instead of the
work done foi^ us by the Saviour ; whereas the reply
contained in the blessed Gospel is very simple, for it is
^liom. i. 18. 'Luke iii. 7.

ASSURANCE OF FAITH 265

written, " Whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved."

The word "Lord" here refers, as stated in the
previous chapter, to Jesus Christ, who " died for our
sins according to the Scriptures," and " rose again the
third day according to the Scriptures."^ A few
years after His ascension His followers began to be
termed Christians, and they are described by an in-
spired apostle as " all that in every place call upon
the name of Jesus Christ our Lord." ^ To call upon
the name of the Lord is a Hebrew form of speech de-
noting the Lord Himself, and it signifies, therefore, to
call upon Christ, who, "when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
Majesty on high." ^ It is obvious, however, that we
cannot truly call upon Him unless we believe in Him ;
but if we sincerely believe in Him as our Saviour, we
may know upon the best evidence possible — that is,
upon His own infinitely trustworthy testimony — that
heaven is certain, because He has said, " Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

All the knowledge we possess is derived from con-
sciousness, or from the evidence of our senses, or from
testimony ; and the knowledge we gain from testimony
may be entitled to as much credit as that which we
obtain from consciousness or the evidence of our
senses. We are conscious, for example, of certain
thoughts and emotions, and we say w^ithout hesi-
tation we Icnow they really came into our minds and
hearts. Or we see a great crowd assembled, and say

» 1 Cor. XV. 3, 4. n Cor. i. 2. ^Heb. i. 3.

266 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

we hnow that many persons have met together. Or
we hear an entrancing melody, and say we hioio
charming sounds are uttered. Or we taste honey,
and say we knoio it is sweet. Or we lay hold of an
object, and say we hnow we touch it. But surely we
may say with equal confidence we knoio that George
Washington, and Napoleon Bonaparte, and Oliver
Cromwell, and Julius Caesar lived, although we are
not conscious of their existence, nor have we seen
them. He who would gravely express a doubt
whether these men actually lived, because the fact
has not been revealed to him by his consciousness or
the evidence of his senses, would be held in merited
contempt for his silly eccentricity, and no one could
be induced to waste an argument upon his stupid
mind. The testimony that proves their existence is
not less certain and conclusive than that of which we
are conscious, or which we have seen with our eyes
and heard with our ears. Indeed, it is more certain
and conclusive ; for while it is possible to believe that
consciousness and our senses may sometimes deceive
us, it is not possible to believe that Washington and
Napoleon never had any existence whatever except in
the imagination of fictitious writers. We know that
they lived. We know that one Avas President of the
United States and that the other was Emperor of
France. We know that one died and was buried at
Mount Yernon, and that the other died and was
buried on the island of Saint Helena ; and so of any
other fact in their history of which we have clear and
unequivocal testimony.

ASSUKANCE OF FAITH 267

Suppose a jury of twelve intelligent, upright citizens
were summoned to try a man indicted for homicide. If
two witnesses, respected by the entire community for
their strict truthfulness, should come into court and
solemnly swear that they saw the prisoner at the bar
strike the fatal blow which deprived his victim of
Kfe, would the jury bring in a verdict of " not guilty "
on the ground that they did not and could not hiow
that the defendant had committed the crime with
which he was charged ? Suppose that, in addition to
the two witnesses, ten, twenty, fifty, or one hundred
men of the highest character for veracity should swear
the same thing, without the slightest rebutting evi-
dence, would the jury still say to the judge, We can-
not know that the prisoner is guilty? Surely not.
Theu' action in the case would say in effect. We hiow
that he is guilty ; and although we would have gladly
given him the benefit of a doubt if any had existed,
and although we shrink from the dread responsibility
of consigning a fellow creature to an ignominious
death, we are bound to render a verdict according to
the law and evidence, and therefore hand him over to
the executioner. Their knowledge would not be de-
rived either from consciousness or their own senses,
but nevertheless they could not be more positive as to
the fact if they had personally witnessed the murder-
ous act.

Most of the knowledge we possess is derived from
testimony, but still it is knowledge, and not conjec-
ture, nor guessing, nor supposition, nor surmise. All
our knowledge of past events in the history of the

268 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

world is due entirely to testimony ; all our knowledge
of present events that are occurring on the face of the
earth beyond the narrow range of our own observa-
tion is due entirely to testimony ; all our knowledge
of the discoveries made in various departments of
science as the result of patient thought and careful in-
vestigation is due, in most instances, entirely to testi-
mony ; and yet we do not hesitate to rely upon it with
the utmost confidence. We are so constituted that we
are compelled to believe the testimony of competent
witnesses — that is, witnesses who know whereof they
affirm, and whose w^ord is worthy of credit. If a
thousand such witnesses should declare that they had
visited some place of which we had never heard be-
fore, we could no more doubt their statement than we
could call in question the evidence of our sight. Nay,
if one man of spotless reputation communicates to us
a fact that fell under his personal observation, we are
prepared to assert that we know it to be true simply
and singly upon our faith in his veracity. Every day
we are gaining knowledge in this manner from inter-
course w^ith friends ; and if, on repeating information
thus obtained, it should be disputed, we would regard
the denial as an insult to ourselves or to those from
whom we received the statement. Visiting a member
of the church recently w^ho is rapidly approaching the
eternal world, she told me that her distressing cough
had deprived her of sleep during the previous night,
and that she was sufi'ering greatly. My reply was,
" Cheer up ! for you will soon be where ' there shall
be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither

ASSUEANCE OF FAITH 269

shall there be any more pain.' " * " Oh," she ex-
claimed, with touching anxiety depicted on her face,
" if I only knew that ! How can I know it ? " " Sup-
pose," I answered, '' when I leave your house, I meet
an acquaintance who asks, ' How is Mrs. S to-
day ? ' I tell her that you coughed nearly all night
and feel very badly. She then says, ' How can I
know that ? ' "What should I reply ? " " You would
inform her," she answered, " that I told you." " Pre-
cisely so, and God tells you in His word that if you
believe on His dear Son you shall certainly be saved.
If I can believe you without a moment's hesitation,
will you not believe the blessed God ? "

My object in these arguments and illustrations is to
show that we may hnow that of which we have no
evidence either from consciousness or from our own
senses, merely upon credible testimony. It is in this
way the believer hioios he is saved. He knows it
upon the sure testimony of God, who can neither de-
ceive nor be deceived, and who, " willing more abun-
dantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immuta-
bility of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath : that by
two immutable things, in which it was impossible for
God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who
have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set be-
fore us : which hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and steadfast." ^ The testimony of the
eternal Jehovah is more worthy of credit than the
testimony of the entire human race of all generations
combined, and He has given both His promise and

» Rev. xxi. 4. « Heb. vi. 17-19.

270 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

His oath to save with an everlasting salvation every
soul that trusts in Jesus Christ. " How, then, does
the believer know that he is saved ?" He knows it
because God has said and sworn that we shall come
off '' more than conquerors through him that loved
us." ' " For when God made promise to Abraham,
because he could swear bj no greater, he sware by
himself ; " ^ and — glory to His name ! — He still lives
to swear by Himself, " to the end the promise might
be sure to all the seed ; not to that only which is of
the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abra-
ham ; who is the father of us all." ^ Observe, the
promise might be sure to all the seed.

Ponder a few of the words of Jesus, and then de-
cide whether a believer may know upon such testi-
mony that he is saved beyond the shadow of a doubt.
" This is the Father's will which hath sent me, that
of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing,
but should raise it up again at the last day. And this
is the will of him that sent me, that every one which
seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have ever-
lasting life : and I will raise him up at the last day." *
" My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me : and I give unto them eternal life ;
and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck
them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them
me, is greater than all ; and no one is able to pluck
them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father
are one." * " He that believeth on the Son hath ever-

1 Rom. viii. 37. «Heb. vi. 13. ' Rom. iv, 16.

* John vi. 39, 40. ^ John x. 27-30.

ASSURANCE OF FAITH 271

lasting life " ' — not life for a few weeks, or months,
or years — not life to be bestowed and taken away, to
be gained and lost — but everlasting life, and he has it
now and has it forever. " Yerily, verily, I say unto
you. He that heareth my word, and believeth on him
that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation [judgment] ; but is passed from
death unto life." ^ " Because I live, ye shall live
also." ^ " Father, I will that they also, whom thou
hast given me, be with me where I am ; that they
may behold my glory, which thou hast given me : for
thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." ^
Do you still ask how you may Tcnow that you are
saved ? I still reply. By believing the sure testimony
of God's word. You know you w^ere a condemned
and ruined sinner by believing that word ; you know
Christ came to die for a lost world by believing that
word ; and you may know you are saved, if you trust
in Jesus Christ, by believing the same word. Let me
ask a few plain questions that may present this im-
portant subject in a clearer light to your mind. How
do you know that the law of God has pronounced a
curse against every one who continues not in the strict
performance of all the Divine commandments in all
their extent, reaching to the most secret emotions of
the soul ? You know it only by believing His word.
How do you know that He who was in the form of
God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
emptied Himself of His visible glory, and was born of

1 John iii. 36. » John v. 24.

^ John xiv. 19. * John xvii, 24.

272 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

the Virgin IMary, and performed many wonderful
miracles, and preached many sublime and sweet truths,
and died upon the cross, and rose from the tomb, and
ascended up to heaven ? You know it only by be-
lieving His word. How do you know that He is to
come again to judge the quick and the dead at His
appearing and kingdom ? You know it only by be-
lieving His word. How do you know that the blood
of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin ?
You know it only by believing His word. How,
then, do you know that, not relying upon yourself,
nor upon forms and ceremonies, but upon Christ alone,
you shall certainly be saved ? Obviously, in the same
way — only by believing His word.

You cannot y^^Z that the Saviour was born in Beth-
lehem of Judea, and that He suffered on Calvary, for
this occurred more than nineteen hundred years ago ;
but you can know it upon the unimpeachable testi-
mony of God. And so you are not called iofeel that
you can be saved in order to obtain assurance of sal-
vation, but to Iciiow it upon the sworn testimony of
God revealed in His word ; or, to put it in another
shape, you cannot know that you are saved because
you feel it, but you will feel it because you know it.
If you hear good news, you do not first feel that it is
true, and then believe it, but you first believe it, and
then feel happy. If you are anxious to obtain a fa-
vor from a friend who promises to grant your request,
you do not first feel that he will do it, and then be-
lieve him, but you first believe him, and then feel glad
and grateful. If you have lost your sight, and a sue-

ASSUKANCE OF FAITH 273

cessful operation has been performed to remove the
obstruction from your vision, you do not turn your
attention within to examine the optic nerve, but you
open your eyes to look without, and thus discover that
you can see. If you have been deaf, and something
is done to relieve you of the affliction, you do not be-
gin to study the structure of the tympanum or ear-
drum, but hearken to the sounds that are going around
you, and thus discover that you can hear. In like
manner, if you would know that you are saved, you
must fix your gaze upon Christ, and listen to His pre-
cious declarations in the Gospel, instead of seeking
for comfort amid the darkness and disease that not
only belong by nature to the " old man," but will con-
tinue to cling to it until it is laid down at the grave,
or left behind at the second coming of the Lord. The
Westminster Confession of Faith well says, " This cor-
ruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in
those that are regenerated ; and although it be
through Christ pardoned and mortified, yet both it-
self and all the motions thereof are truly and prop-
erly sin."

It is my earnest desire and effort to turn your
thoughts entirely away from yourself to the Saviour,
for it is the most melancholy business that can engage
even a redeemed sinner to be probing into his own
soul to find some assurance that he is saved. You
can never find it there, but only in the word ; and,
thank God ! having once seen it in the word, you can
see it every day and every hour, and as often as you
read and believe what Jesus says. Nor is this assur-

274 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

ance the privilege exclusively of ministers or of a
favored few who have made higher attainments in
holiness than the common crowd can ever hope to
reach, but it is the privilege of every one without ex-
ception who believes the testimony of God's word ad-
dressed alike to all. The merchant plunged in the
noisy whirl of trade ; the mechanic working at his
bench ; the professional man in the wearisome routine
of his daily duties ; the wife and mother harassed with
the anxieties and cares of her household ; the child of
affliction bowed under the burden of a well-nigh insup-
portable sorrow, — may all rejoice in this cheering as-
surance, and hiow by simply and sincerely believing
God that they are forever saved. Christ died for one
as much as another of His people, and " he that be-
lieveth on him is not condemned," ' no matter what
may be his circumstances in life. To believe this is to
know that we are saved.

Hence, in some of the chief confessions and cate-
chisms which express the doctrinal views of Christians,
assurance is represented as the common experience of
all who believe in Jesus. Thus in the celebrated
Heidelberg Catechism, in answer to Question 21,
" What is true faith ? " the answer is, " True faith is
not only a certain knowledge, whereby I hold for
truth all that God has revealed to us in His word, but
also an assured confidence, which the Holy Ghost
works by the Gospel in my heart ; that not only to
others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting
righteousness, and salvation, are freely given by God,

1 Johu iii. 18.

ASSURANCE OF FAITH 275

merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits."
So again in the equally celebrated Catechism of the
Westminster Assembly of Divines, in answer to
Question 36, " What are the benefits which in this life
do accompany or flow from justification, adoption,
and sanctification ? " the answer is, "The benefits
which in this life [in this life, observe] do accompany
or flow from justification, adoption, and sanctification,
are assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy
in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance
therein to the end." These questions and answers are
heard in a thousand Sunday-schools every Lord's day,
but the meaning of the words they contain is seldom
understood or even considered ; for there are very few
in our time who believe, according to their own
standards, that true faith is " a certain knowledge "
and "an assured confidence," or that the benefits
which in this life do accompany justification are " as-
surance of God's love," etc.

The multitude regard it as impious presumption
when they hear Christians at rare intervals say they
know they are saved, but they do not regard it as im-
pious presumption to make God a liar, as they do by
their doubts and fears ; f or " he that belie veth not God
hath made him a liar ; because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son." ' They seem to
think that it is only a preeminently holy walk that
can secure assurance of faith ; whereas it is only as-
surance of faith that can secure a preeminently holy
walk. They seem to think that to obtain this price-

J 1 John V. 10.

276 THE WAY MADE PLAKT

less boon they must struggle hard and long, and refer
as an illustration to Jacob wrestling all night with the
Lord, whereas a glance at the passage in Genesis
would show them that it was the Lord who wrestled
with Jacob ; just as He is now wrestling with their
ungenerous and unworthy unbelief, seeking to cast it
down by the precious word of His grace. They seem
to think that it is a token of becoming humility and
self-abasement when they lament their wretched con-
dition as sinners, or, at best, indulge a faint hope that
they will be admitted, after they are judged, to " the
lowest seat in heaven," whereas it is a token of pride
and self-righteousness that keep them from seeing how
totally lost they really are, and so prevent them from
resting at once and fully upon the finished work of
Christ for eternal life.

They are not " altogether without hope," they say ;
but if they believe in Christ (and this is a simple mat-
ter of consciousness), why do they not say they hiow
they are saved according to the Scriptures ? A young
lady teaching her class in Sunday-school found the
lesson for a certain day embracing the Saviour ^s dec-
laration, " Yeril}^ verily, I say unto you. He that be-
lieveth on me hath everlasting life." ' A little girl
inquired, " Is that true — is it surely true ? " " Oh,
yes ! " replied the teacher, " it is surely true, for Christ
says so, and whatever He says is true." " It must be
very nice," said the child, " to have everlasting life,
and to know that whatever comes you are saved, and
saved even now." " Yes," answered the teacher, *' it
* John vi. 47.

ASSURANCE OF FAITH 277

is a great blessing indeed." " Then you are saved,
are you not ? " asked the interested scholar. " I hope
so," was the reply. " Hope so ! " exclaimed the child ;
" why, I thought you told me just now it was sure
enough ? " The conversation is said to have led the
young lady to see her folly, and to cast herself with
undoubting confidence upon Christ for a present, com-
plete, and assured salvation. So it would be with
numbers of professed Christians who seek to lead
souls to the Saviour, if they would reflect for a mo-
ment upon the absurdity of telling the inquiring sin-
ner, upon the infinitely trustworthy testimony of Je-
hovah, that through faith in Jesus he shall certainly
be saved, while they themselves, although saying they
believe, are filled with doubt and fear concerning their
own state and standing before God.

CHAPTER XX
ASSURANCE OP FAITH

THE objection, however, may be here raised that
the real point of the difficulty is not yet reached.
It will be admitted, some are ready to reply, that the
true believer may know he is saved, but the question
is, How can he know he is a true believer ? Is he not
compelled, in the nature of the case, to look at his
own heart and life before he can be assured of his in-
terest in the blood of Christ ? As Professor Lindsay
has put it in his expository Lectures on the Epistle to
the Hebrews (which are for the most part admirable),
" When the question is. What is the ground of a sin-
ner's acceptance ? the answer is, Christ's righteous-
ness received by faith alone. When the question is,
What is the ground of a true saving faith ? the an-
swer is. The testimony of God applied to the con-
science by the Holy Ghost. But when the question
is. Has some particular man, A or B, really believed
the Gospel and obtained pardon ? it must obviously be
something connected with the man himself to which
you look for an answer. Has the Gospel produced its
legitimate influence upon his dispositions and life ? Is
he bringing forth fruits meet for repentance ? Is he
yielding a diligent and cheerful obedience to the com-
mandments of Christ ? "

278

ASSURAKCE OF FAITH 279

To this the troubled Christian might fairly respond,
What is the legitimate influence of the Gospel upon
my dispositions and life, and how far does it extend ?
What are fruits meet for repentance, and how abun-
dant and constant must be their growth and mani-
festation ? What is a diligent and cheerful obedience
to the commandments of Christ, and where is the
standard to determine whether the obedience is suifi-
ciently diligent and cheerful to entitle me to assurance
of salvation ? With all deference for Dr. Lindsay's
ability as a scholar and writer, I am bold to say that
assurance can never, never be obtained in this manner;
for in proportion as a child of God is conscientious and
painstaking in his walk, so is he made aware of the
evils of his nature and his deficiencies in meeting the
full measure of his obligations. The holiest saints on
earth are invariably those who most clearly perceive
and most promptly confess the vileness of their hearts
and their failures in duty ; and they would be the first
to confess that if assurance is derived from anything
found in them or done by them, it is a privilege en-
tirely beyond the reach of their experience.

The fact is, assurance does not depend upon our
conduct, but our conduct greatly depends upon our as-
surance. Let no one infer from this that it matters not
how a Christian lives, for whatever gives the slightest
encouragement to sin ; whatever leads any to suppose
that the least iniquity in the soul or life is a little
thing ; whatever tends to dampen the ardor of a fer-
vent aspiration to be perfectly conformed to the will
of God, — is utterly contrary both to the letter and the

280 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

spirit of the Gospel. Its solemn language is, " As he
which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all
manner of conversation ; because it is written, Be ye
holy ; for I am holy." ' But the calling here does
not depend upon the holiness, although the holiness
depends upon the calling. The divine order is, first
faith and then works; first grace and then govern-
ment ; fii^t privilege and then responsibility ; first
relationship and then affection; first life and then
activity ; first salvation and then holiness. " Be ye
therefore followers of God, as dear children ; " ^ but
mark, as dear cJiildren ; and the exhortation is based
upon the fact stated in the preceding verse — that
" God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." ^ So you
will find that all the exhortations addressed to the
disciples of Jesus in the New Testament take it for
granted that faith is already exercised ; that grace is
already received ; that privilege is already enjoyed ;
that relationship with God as the Father of believers
is already established ; that life is already bestowed ;
that salvation is already secured. They are not
asked to pray, and work, and give, and be holy, in
order to be saved, but because they are saved ; and
salvation is not made to hang upon their discern-
ment of themselves as true believers, but upon their
discernment of Christ as the. only and all-sufficient
Saviour.

It is nowhere written in the Bible, Believe that
thou art a believer, and thou shalt be saved, but, " Be-
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be

» 1 Pet. i. 15, 16. 2 Eph. v. 1. » gpij, i^. 32.

ASSURANCE OF FAITH 281

saved." ' It is nowhere said, He that believeth him-
self to be a believer hath everlasting life, but, " He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." ^ Do
you ask, then, how you may know that you are a be-
liever ? I reply, You cannot know it by looking at
yourself, but only at the Saviour who speaks to you
in His word. If a friend of undoubted veracity were
to tell you of something that had occurred within his
personal knowledge, you would not think of your
own heart and life to find out whether you believed
him, but only of his unspotted reputation for truthful-
ness. If a common Har were to relate a wonderful
story as a fact, you would not w^atch the operations of
your own mind, and the expressions of your own face,
to discover whether you doubted or believed his state-
ment, but you would remember his bad character, and
for this reason dismiss what he has said as unworthy
of credit. If you were dangerously ill, and your phy-
sician, w^ho through long years of practice had never
been known to deceive a patient, should at length de-
clare that the crisis of the disease had been safely
passed, that all your symptoms were encouraging, and
that you were on the way to speedy recovery, you
would not be occupied with thoughts about yourself
to learn whether you believed him, but your attention
would be instantly turned from self to think of his
skill, his integrity, and his cheering words. You
would not first feel glad, and then believe him, but
you would first believe him, and then feel glad. You
would not first look for signs of returning health, and
^ Actaxvi. 31. 2 JqI^u m -js.

282 THE WAY MADE PLAINT

then accept his declaration as true, but you \\"ould first
accept his declaration as true, and then look for signs
of returning health. You would not say, " Doctor, I
wish I could believe you ; I am trying to believe you ;
how can I believe you ? how can I know that I be-
lieve you ? " but immediately upon the announcement
of the good news you would believe him, and straight-
way rejoice.

So it was with those who became the disciples of
Jesus in the earliest and best days of the Christian
Church. They heard the good news of the love of
God for a lost world, and of the death of Christ for
sin, and of His resurrection for the justification of
His people, and without any delay they believed, and
at once were made happy in the assurance of salvation.
Among them were physicians, and lawyers, and mer-
chants, and mechanics, and farmers, and priests who
gave up their oflSce, and women, composing a great
company, having the same sinful nature with which
we are born into the world, and bearing on their
weary souls the same cares that burden us, and
knowing "that not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble," ' were called to
help them in the struggle of life. Some of them had
been fornicators, and idolaters, and adulterers, and
effeminate, and abusers of themselves with mankind,
and thieves, and covetous, and drunkards, and revilers,
and extortioners ; and yet it could be said to them,
" But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the

» 1 Cor. i. 26.

ASSUEANCE OF FAITH 283

Spirit of our God." ' This wondrous change from the
deepest degradation to the highest blessedness was
brought about by simply believing upon the testimony
of God that Christ had put away their sins ; and there
is not the slightest evidence that they doubted their
acceptance, or that they worried themselves in trying
to discover whether their faith was of the right kind,
and whether it was sufficiently strong. They were
troubled about other questions, which they referred to
the decision of the inspired apostles, but there is no
proof that they ever asked how they might know they
were true believers and thus obtain full assurance of
faith.

On the other hand, there is abundant proof that
they were strangers to the fear and uncertainty that
make up the gloomy experience of at least nine-tenths
of the people of God in modern times. Whoever they
were, whatever they had been, wherever they lived,
they had an assurance of salvation which must have
formed at once an unfailing fountain of joy to their
hearts and an effective instrument for achieving an
easy victory over the world. Thus in writing to the
Eomans the apostle says in his salutation, " To all that
be in Eome, beloved of God, called to be saints." ^
If they did not know that they were beloved of God,
called to be saints, it is obvious that they could not
know that the Epistle was intended for them. In the
same strain he goes on to say, " To him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness." ^ '' Therefore

1 1 Cor. vi. 11. ^ Rom. i. 7. ^ Rom. iv. 5.

2S4 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

being jiistiiied by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ : by whom also we
have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand,
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." ^ " What
shall we say then ? Shall Ave continue in sin, that
grace may abound ? God forbid. How shall we that
are dead to sin, live any longer therein ? " ^ " Know-
ing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that
the body of sm might be destroyed, that henceforth
we should not serve sin." ^ " There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." *
'' Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died,
yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the
right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
us." ^ " Now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed." ^ ^' Whether we live, we live unto the
Lord ; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord :
whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." '
*' And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your
feet shortly." ^ Is it possible that those to whom
such language was addressed could doubt their safety,
or need anything else to give them perfect assurance ?
In the first Epistle to the Corinthians the same
apostle sends his salutations " unto the church of God
which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in
Christ Jesus, called to be saints," and he describes
them as " waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ : who shall also confirm you unto the end, that

*Rom. V. 1, 2. «Rora. vi. 1, 2. ^Rora. vi. 6.

*Rom. viii. 1. * Rom. viii. 34. «Roni. xiii. 11.

' Rom. xiv. 8. e Ro„j^ ^yi. 20.

ASSURATs^CE OF FAITH 285

ye may be blameless in the clay of our Lord Jesus
Christ." * *' Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of
God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and
sanctiiication, and redemption." ^ " Know ye not
that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of
God dwelleth in you ? " ^ " All things are yours ;
Avhether Paul, or ApoUos, or Cephas, or the world, or
life, or death, or things present, or things to come ;
all are yours ; and ye are Christ's ; and Christ is
God's." * " Do ye not know that the saints shall
judge the world ? and if the Avorld shall be judged by
you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters ?
Know ye not that we shall judge angels ? " ^ *' Ye
are bought with a price ; therefore glorify God in
your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." ®
'* There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man : but God is faithful, who will not
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able ; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it." ^ " When we are
judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should
not be condemned with the world." ^ " Now ye are
the body of Christ, and members in particular." ^
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast,
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the
Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in
vain in the Lord." ^^

» 1 Cor. i. 7, 8. '1 Cor. i. 30. ' 1 Cor. iii. 16.

* 1 Cor. iii. 21-23. ^ 1 Cor. vi. 2, 3. n Cor. vi. 20.

' 1 Cor. X. 13. ^ 1 Cor. xi. 32. » 1 Cor. xii. 27.

101 Cor. XV. 58.

286 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

Turning to the second Epistle to the Corinthians,
we find the apostle saying, " ISTow he which stablisheth
us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God ;
who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the
Spirit in our hearts.'^* "Forasmuch as ye are mani-
festly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered
by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the
living God." ^ " For we know [not suppose, nor hope,
but know] that if our earthly house of this tabernacle
were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house
not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." ^ " All
things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself
by Jesus Christ." ^ " For he hath made him to be sin
for us, who knew no sin ; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him." ^ To the Galatians he
says, " Ye are all the children of God by faith in
Christ Jesus." ^ To the Ephesians he says, " He hath
made us accepted in the beloved : in whom we have
redemption through his blood ; " ^ " Kow in Christ Jesus
ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the
blood of Christ." ^ To the Philippians he says, " Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun
a good work in you will perform it unto the day of
Jesus Christ." ^ To the Colossians he says, " Giving
thanks unto the Father, w^hich hath made us meet to
be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light :
who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and
hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." ^®

»2 Cor. i. 21, 22. ^2 Cor. iii. 3. ^2 Cor. v. 1.

*2 Cor. V. 18. * 2 Cor. v. 21. «Gal. iii. 26.

'Eph. i. 6, 7. ^Eph. ii. 13. 'Phil. i. 6. »0Col. i. 12, 13.

ASSURANCE OF FAITH 287

" And ye are complete in him." ' To the Thessaloni-
ans he says, " Ye turned to God from idols to serve
the living and true God ; and to wait for his Son from
heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus,
which delivered us [mark the past tense] from the
wrath to come." ^ To Timothy he says, " God hath
not given us the spirit of fear ; but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind." ^ To Titus he says, " Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the w^ashing
of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ
our Saviour; that being justified by his grace we
should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal
life." ^ To the Hebrews he says, " For both he that
sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one :
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them
brethren." ^ " Christ was once offered to bear the
sins of many ; and unto them that look for him shall
he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." ^
Having thus hurriedly passed through the Epistles
which the Holy Ghost dictated to Paul, it only re-
mains to glance at the testimonj^ given by the other
inspired apostles. James says, " Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down
from the Father of lights, with whom is no variable-
ness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will be-
gat he us with the word of truth." ^ Peter, writing

» Col. ii. 10. » 1 Thess. i. 9, 10. ^2 Tim. i. 7.

4 Tit. iii. 5-7. ' Heb. ii. 11. « Heb. ix. 28.

' James 1. 17, 18.

288 THE WAY MADE PLAIN

to the strangers scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia,
Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, declares that they
were " elect according to the foreknowledge of God," *
and blesses " the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath
begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrec-
tion of Jesus Christ from the dead," ^ " whom having
not seen, ye love ; in whom, though now ye see him
not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and
full of glory ; receiving the end of your faith, even the
salvation of your souls." ^ John writes not only to
the fathers and the young men who were strong, but
to " little children, because," he says, " your sins are
forgiven you for his name's sake ; " and again, " I
write unto you, little children, because ye have known
the Father." ^ '' Beloved, now we are the sons of
God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but
we know that when he shall appear we shall be like
him." ^ " These things have I written unto you that
believe on the name of the Son of God ; that ye may
know that ye have eternal life." ^ " We know that
we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wicked-
ness [or the wicked one]. And we know that the Son
of God is come, and hath given us an understanding,
that we may know him that is true ; and we are in him
that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the
true God, and eternal life." ^ Jude addresses " them
that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in

» 1 Pet. i. 2. 3 1 Pet. i. 3. n Pet. i. 8, 9.

* 1 Jobu ii. 12, 13. ' 1 John iii. 2. « 1 John v. 13.

' 1 John V. 19, 20.

ASSURANCE OF FAITH 289

Jesus Christ, and called ; " ' and the beloved disciple
raises an ascription of praise, in behalf of all his
brethren, " unto him that loved us and washed us from
our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and
priests unto God and his Father." ^

It is plain from these passages that the Holy Ghost
sent His communications to the early disciples as to
those who were already saved and who knew they
were saved. Indeed, He manifestly designed to give
them assurance of this fact ; and they could obtain as-
surance only by believing His word. When it is said,
" The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God," ^and, " He that believeth
on the Son of God hath the witness in himself," ^ we
are to remember that the witness-bearing of the Holy
Ghost is not apart from the word, but that it consists
in leading the soul to rest with unwavering confidence
upon the testimony of that word. When our Lord
said to those who received Him as their Saviour, " Ke-
joice because your names are written in heaven," ^
and, " Fear not, little fiock, for it is your Father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom," ^ bow were
they assured of salvation ? Clearly, by believing His
word ; and if they did sincerely believe Him, they not
only hoped, but they knew, that their names were
written in heaven, and that they would at length
reign in the kingdom. They could not know it in
any other way. Suppose Christ should now descend
from heaven in visible form and say the same thing

* Jude 1. « Rev. i. 5, 6. ' Rom. viii. 16.

* 1 John V. 10. » Lnke x. 20. « Luke xii. 32.

290 THE AVAY MADE PLAIN

to you ; would you believe Him ? Suppose He should
send an angel to you as He did to Cornelius to an-
nounce the same thing ; would you believe Him ?
Suppose He should write the same thing in a letter and
convey it to your mind in that form ; would you be-
lieve Him ? Why not believe Him, then, when He
says the same thing in a book, and says it to you no
less personally and directly than He did to those who
received Him, while He was on the earth, as the Son
of God ?

Surely you hiow whether you believe that He lived
here below, and died upon the cross, and arose from
the grave, and ascended up to heaven ; and whether
He lived, and died, and arose, and ascended, as the
Saviour of all who believe that thus He put away sin ;
and if you so believe, you may know that you are a
child of God, because it is written, " Whosoever be-
lieveth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God."*
You have already confessed with the mouth that this
Jesus is your Lord — or you are only waiting a suitable
opportunity to confess Him — and you do sincerely be-
lieve that God raised Him from the dead for the justi-
fication of all His people ; and hence you may know
that you are delivered from the wrath to come, because
it is written, '' If thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved." ^ You hioio whether you are trusting in Him
alone for salvation, or whether you expect to enter
heaven on the ground that you are good, or on the

' 1 Jolm V. 1. ^ Ixom. X. 9.

ASSUEANCE OF FAITH 291

ground that you have joined the church, or on the
ground of something else you are doing ; and if you
can trutlifuliy say that your trust is in Jesus and in
none but Jesus, you may hnoio that you have passed
out of death into life, because it is written, " He that
belie veth on me hath everlasting life." '

The question here is not whether you are a sinner,
for it is certain that you are a sinner, and that you
will remain a sinner as long as you live, but it is sim-
ply this, Do you believe that Christ is your Saviour ?
If you do, although the flesh is still in you, " ye are
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit." ^ In other words,
although you are a sinner, you are not a sinner ; and
if you say this is a contradiction in terms, so it is a
contradiction in terms to say that you are mortal and
at the same time immortal, and yet both statements
are strictly true. As the great Bacon has described
the believer in one of his striking Christian " para-
doxes and seeming contradictions," " He hath within
him both flesh and Spirit, yet he is not a double-
minded man ; he is often led captive by the law of sin,
yet it never gets dominion over him ; he cannot sin,
yet can do nothing without sin." Or, to quote a far
higher authority, " If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us ; " ^ but
the same apostle says, " Whosoever is born of God
doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him :
and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." ^
" Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be

^ John V), 47, ^Rom. viii. 9.

» 1 John i. 8. 4 1 John iii. 9.

292 THE IV AY MABE PLAIN

a new lump, as ye are unleavened." If the Christian
had not leaven in him, he could not be told to purge
it out ; and yet the very reason assigned for purging
it out is that he has not leaven. The truth is, our
" old man " is essentially corrupt, but our " new man "
which is created in Christ Jesus is essentially holy ; and
the moment we are in Him by faith alone, twenty
things are said of our sins. First, they are blotted
out ; ' second, they are home by another ; ^ third, they
are cast behind God^s back;^ fourth, they are cast
into the dejyths of the sea / ^ fifth, they are washed
away with cleansing blood ; ^ sixth, they are covered / ®
seventh, they dire finished ;'^ eighth, they diVQ for-
given; ^ ninth, they are not beheld ; ^ tenth, they are
not imputed I ^^ eleventh, they are not remembered ; "
twelfth, they are pardoned ; ^^ thirteenth, they are
passed away ;^^ fourteenth, they are purged ;^^ fif-
teenth, they are put away / ^^ sixteenth, they are re-
mitted; ^^ seventeenth, they are removed ; '' eighteenth,
they are subdued ; ^^ nineteenth, they are sought for
and not found ;^^ twentieth, they are talcen away."^
The believer in Christ may knovj upon the sure testi-
mony of God that all this is true as it respects both
the sin of his nature and the sins of his life ; and hence
the believer may hiow in the same way that he is saved.

^ Isa. xliii. 25. ' 1 Pet. ii. 24. ^ jga. xxxviii. 17.

* Micah vii. 19. » 1 John i. 7. « Rom. iv. 7.

' Dau. ix. 24. ^ (^q\ jj 13^ 9 j^nnj xxiii. 21.

^0 Rora. iv. 8. " Heb. viii. 12. " Micah vii. 18.

" Zech. iii. 4. " Heb. i. 3. »" Heb. ix. 26.

^fi Acts x. 43. 1' Ps. ciii. 12. »« Micah vii. 19.

"Jer. i. 20. 'ojsa. vi. 7.

ASSURANCE OF FAITH 293

But it may be asked whether there are not certain
evidences of conversion found in the Scriptures. Un-
doubtedly there are, but they are not given that we
might derive from them the assurance of salvation.
It was never intended that we should receive assur-
ance by believing ourselves to be Christians, but by
believing that Christ is our all-sufficient Saviour.
Look at any of the evidences of regeneration men-
tioned in the Bible, and a moment's reflection will
convince you that they were not designed to furnish
assurance for which so many sad hearts are longing
and striving. Take, for example, the text, " Every
one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." '
This cannot give assurance, for there is not a Christian
in the world whose love does not fall far below the
measure of his desire and his duty. Take the text,
" We know that we have passed from death unto life,
because we love the brethren."^ This cannot give
assurance, for there is no test to decide who are the
brethren, and no standard to determine how fervent
our love must be, or how far it must extend in cover-
ing the faults of those who claim to be Christians.
Take the text, " He that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him, and he in him." ^ This cannot give
assurance ; for every true Christian, unless deluded
by Satan, will confess that he fails to observe them in
many particulars ; that when he would do good evil
is present with him ; and that " no mere man, since
the fall, is able, in this life, perfectly to keep the com-
mandments of God ; but doth daily break them, in

» 1 John iv. 7. ^ 1 John iii. 14. » j ^^^^ jjj^ 24.

294 THE WAY MADE PLAIJf

thought, word, and deed." Whatever purpose, there-
fore, these evidences may serve, it is a self-righteous
and fruitless task to look to them for assurance.

Still, it may be urged that we are commanded to
examine ourselves. But not, I reply, to discover
whether we are Christians. In the first passage
where this command is given the context plainly shows
that the examination refers only to the question
whether the disciples of Christ were pursuing a course
of conduct unbecoming those who came to the Lord's
table. " Let a man examine himself, and so let him
eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." ' The
question of personal salvation is not at all involved ;
but they were exhorted to examine their ways, and
put from them, as the dear children of God, detected
evil ; " for if we would judge ourselves, we should not
be judged." ^ In the second passage we read, " Exam-
ine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith," ^ but here
again the context clearly shows that the question un-
der discussion was about the apostle's right to exercise
his high office, and not at all about personal salvation.
" Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me," he
says, " examine yourselves, whether ye be in the
faith ; " for the fact that they were in the faith was
conclusive proof that Christ had owned his ministry,
and therefore that he was not an impostor in claiming
to be an apostle. Self-examination as conducted in
the manner and to attain the ends for which it is
usually urged is the most painful and profitless exer-
cise that can engage the soul, and I would confidently

' 1 Cor. xi. 28. » 1 Cor. xi. 31. ^ 2 Cor. xiii. 5.

ASSURANCE OF FAITH 295

appeal to the experience of every conscientious and in-
telligent Christian to testify whether this is not true.
If you expect to get assurance in this way, you might
as well expect to get health by looking at disease, to
get light by looking at darkness, to get life by look-
ing at a corpse. Self -judgment is quite another thing,
and daily should we consider our ways : not to find a
ground of assurance, but to confess and forsake all
that is evil as judged by the word of God.

It may, however, occur to the reader that there are
numerous passages in the Scriptures which warn us
against the danger and deception of apostasy. Want
of space forbids an examination of these passages, but
without going into details, it is sufficient to state that
Scripture cannot contradict itself ; and having already
shown by the abundant testimony of the Holy Ghost
the safety of the believer in Jesus, it is certain that
the same Spirit cannot teach a directly contrary doc-
trine. Such passages, which are often wrested from
their proper meaning by those who are " unskilful in
the word of righteousness," ^ are sometimes given to
expose hypocrites, and sometimes to put true Chris-
tians on their guard " against the wiles of the devil," ^
but never to shake the confidence of the believer. " To
all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi " ^
(the home of the redeemed and rejoicing jailer) the in-
spired apostle writes, " Work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling ; for it is God which worketh
in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." *

' Heb. V. 13. 2 Eph. vi. 11.

» Phil. i. 1. 4 Phil. ii. 12, 13.

206 THE AVAY MADE PLAIN

In other words, God had worked salvation in them,
and now they were commanded to work it oiU — to
ivork, noi for salvation, hut from salvation already re-
ceived ; to work, not for life, hwi from life already be-
stowed. And if anything can arouse us to ceaseless ac-
tivity, to sustained enthusiasm, to practical holiness,
and to personal love in the service of our divine Mas-
ter, it is the knowledge of the fact that through His
pitying grace and precious blood He has freely, fully,
and forever saved us. Then we will understand the
deep meaning of the words,

*' I'm a poor sinner, and nothiug at all,
And Jesus Christ is my all in all.''

Then w^e can say, in the confidence and joy of a simple
faith, " I know whom I have believed, and am per-
suaded that he is able to keep that which I have com-
mitted unto him against that day." *

" Now unto him that is able to keep you from fall-
ing, and to present you faultless before the presence
of his glory, with exceeding joy, to the only wise God
our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and
power, both now and ever. Amen." ^

*' Can it be right for me to go

On in this dark, uncertain way ?
Say * I believe,' and yet not know
Whether my sins are put away ?

^* Not know my trespasses forgiven,
Until I meet Him in the air !
Not kuow that I shall get to heaven
Until I wake and Hud me there !
1 2 Tim. i. 12. « Jude 24, 25.

ASSURANCE OE FAITH 297

** Not know my state till on my brow
Beams the celestial diadem !
Why, surely all the world will know
That I'm a pardoned sinner then.

** Mnst clouds and darkness veil my brow
Until I dwell with saints in light ?
And must I walk in darkness now,
Because I cannot walk by sight ?

*^ And shall I just begin to say,

* Father, Thine every word is true,'
And cast my doubts and fears away.
When all the world will own it too I

** Is this the way to treat the God

Who bids me love and trust Him now ?
Is this the way to use the word
Given to guide me here below ?

How can I forth to sinners go.
And tell of grace so rich and free,

If all the while I do not know
Whether that grace has smiled on me ?

*' How can it be my joy to dwell

On the rich power of Jesus' blood.
If all the while I cannot tell
That it has sealed my peace with God ?

** How can I be like Christ below —

How like my Lord in witness shine —
Unless with conscious joy I know
His Father and His God as mine ?

*' Oh, crush this cruel unbelief;

These needless, shameful doubts remove j
And suffer me no more to grieve
Tlie God w^hom I do really love."

ANALYTICAL INDEX

Abel, offering of, 65.
Abraham, faith of, 192.

righteousness of, 69.
Acceptance of the believer, 99.
Actions and belief, 38

principles, 38
Adam, children of, 126.

in Eden, 100.

promise to, 86, 139.

sin of, 12, 63, 125.
Adoption of Christians, 216.
" Ah ! dearest Lord, I cannot

pray," 261.
Alexander invades Asia, 174.
Antinomianism, evils of, 98.
Antioch, Paul in, 189.
Apostasy, warnings against, 295.
Artaxerxes and Nehemiah, 253.
Assurance of Faith, 263, 297.
Atonement, Christ's, 74, 137, 157.

day of, 208.
Attributes of God, 88.

Baal, priests of, 257.

Bacon, Francis, on goodness, 53.

truth, 53.
Baptism, Christian, 27, 75, 92,

104, 140, 148, 159, 170, 178.
Bathing, Greek, 259.
Belief, actions and, 38.

based on testimony, 266, 267.

Confession and, 163, 193.

evidence and, 45.

importance of, 176, 182.

prayer and, 38.

responsibility for, 35, 40, 44,

47. 49-
"Belief" occurs about 500 times
in New Testament, 177.

Believe with the mind, 173, 174,

175-

Believer, acceptance of the, 100.

Calling on the Lord, 229, 261.

justification of the, loi.

knows he is saved, 270.
Believer's Safety, 194, 227.
Believing, hopes founded on, I03.
Bible, teachings of the, 10.
Birth, new, 26, 118.
Blind man cured, 184.
Blood of Christ, 208.
" Brightness of the Father's glory,"

169.
Brutes, good traits of, 26.

Cain, offering of, 65.

Caleb, courage of, 246.

Calling on the Lord, The Believer,

229, 261.
" Can it be right for me to go," 296.
Carnal mind, 123.
Catechism, Heidelberg, 274.

Westminster Assembly, 275.
Certainty of salvation, 154,
Chalmers, Dr. T.,on salvation, 230.
Change of heart, 122.
Character, judging by, 281.
Christ, ascension of, 186, 188.

atonement of, 137, 157.

blood of, 208.

crucifixion of, 32, 74, 146, 178,
185, 188.

discourses of, 178.

divinity of, 74, 88.

end of the law, 77, 93, 97,
loi, 136.

eternity of, 88.

faith in, 14, 27, 34.

299

300

ANALYTICAL INDEX

Christ, faithfulness of, 242.

humihalion of, 51, 74, 94.

justification by, 59.

Lazarus and, 13.

meaning of the name, 86.

merits of, 100.

miracles of, 178, 179.

Nicodemus and, 15, 25, 5 1.

Omnipotence of, 89, 241.

Omnipresence of, 89.

Omniscience of, 89, 24 1.

prayer to, 232.

praying in the name of, 240.

predicted by Isaiah, 149.

rejection of, 14, 27, 33, 52, 1 18.

resurrection of, 173, 176, 189.

sacrifice of, 137, 138, 208.

Saviour of the Believer, 77,
102,

sin-bearer, 187.

substitute for the sinner, 135.

theme of revelation, 34.

titles of, 87, 183.

weeps over Jerusalem, 1 3, 32.

worshipped, 91,
Christianity, early, 282.
Christians, adoption of, 216.

sins of, 204, 214
Church cannot save, 115.

early, 282.

joining the, 75, 130, 140.

trust in the, 115.
Circumstantial evidence, 266.
Civil law, Hobbes on, 56,
Condition, meaning of, 164.
Conditions, grace with, 163.

of salvation, 164.
Confession, Belief and, 163, 193.

General, 109.

Westminster, 273.
Conscience, decisions of, 56.

enlightened, 23, 40, 41, 113.

slumbering, 105.
Consciousness, knowledge based

on, 265, 267, 269.
Constitution of the mind, 50.
Conversion, evidences of, 293.

instantaneous, 152.

Conversion of a sailor, 256.
Conviction of sin, 7.
Conduct, responsibility for, 37.
Cornelius, Peter visits, 229.
Creation ascribed to Christ, 89.
Creeds, sneering at, 29.
Criminal, condemned, 71, 83, II4.
Cromwell, Oliver, 176, 266.
Crucifixion. See Christ.

David conquers Goliath, 247.

on righteousness, 68.
Day of atonement, 208.
Judgment, 75, no.
of salvation, 153.
Death, punishment of sin, 84.
uncertainty of time of, 77.
Debt, discharge of, 79.
Debtor, release of the, 134.
Deity, doctrine of the, 93.
Depravity of nature, 19, 22, 51,

117, 120, 121.
Devil, a murderer and liar, 32.
Disposition, natural, 26.
Divine government, 82.
Doctrines neglected, 30.
Doing, hopes founded on, 103, 104,
105, 113, 116, 140, 151, 152,
165.
Drafted into the army, 215, 216.
Duty of man, 109.

rule of, 57.
Dying thief, how saved, 146, 154,
160.

Eden, Adam in, 21, 100.
Ejaculatory prayer, 254.
Elijah, temptation of, 248.
Elisha and the widow, 245.
Elizabeth, Queen, 163.
End, meaning of, 78.
End of the Law. See Christ.
Eunuch, Ethiopian, 149, 184.
Episcopal Prayer-book, 109, 1 10.
Epistle to the Romans, 1 1, 54, 57.
Erskine, Ralph, on regeneration,

127.
Eternity ascribed to Christ, 88.

Aiq-ALYTICAL ITTDEX

Europe, Gospel preached in, 147-

148.
Eve, promise to, 86, 139.

sin of, 21, 64.
Everlasting punishment, 27.
Evidence, belief and, 44,45.

circumstantial, 269.

of the senses, 265, 267.
Evidences of conversion, 293.
Examination, object of self, 294.

Faith, Assurance of, 263-297.

in Christ, 15, 27, 34.
*• Faith " occurs about 500 times in

Nevi^ Testament, 177, 178.
Faith, salvation by, 1 64-165.

What is true, 274.

without v^'orks, 69.
" Faith is a very simple thing,"

193-
Faith and repentance, 158.
Faithfulness of Christ, 242.
Flesh, unchanged, 126.
works of the, 119.

General confession, 109, no.
God, attributes of, 88.

character of, 9, 28, 159,

goodness of, 159.

law of, 24, 57, 70, 71,72,80,
96, 107, 136.

love of, 81, 143.

man's ignorance of, 8.

mercy of, 73, 83, 142.

omniscience of, 53.

righteousness of, 57, 58, 60.

will of, 56, 108.
Goliath and David, 247.
Good works. See Doing.
Goodness, Bacon on, 53,

of God, 159.
Gospel, preaching the, loi, 147.
Government, Divine, 82.
Governments, human, 82.
Grace, contrasted with the law,
132.

man's trial under, 22.

righteousness the gift of, 70.

Grace, salvation by, 144.

with conditions, 163.

without conditions, 164.
Gravitation, law of, 48, 82.
Greek and English Lexicon, 55.
Greeks, bathing of the, 259.

Hannibal crosses tlie Alps, 174.
Hearing, recovery of, 273.
Heart, believe in thine, 163, 172,
i73> 188.

change of, 122.

God's judgment of the, 122.

natural fruit of the, 20.
Heathen, philosophers of the, 50.

responsible for their belief, 36.
Hebrew, <• righteousness " in the,

55.
Hebrews in the wilderness, 66.
Hebrews, Epistle to the, 278.
Heidelberg Catechism, 274.
Hobbes on right and wrong, 56.
Holy Ghost always with the be-
liever, 216.

convinces of sin, 8.

dependence upon the, 165, 166.

on justification, 58.

righteousness, 68.

works, 70.

reproves the world, 181.

teachings of the, 105.

testimony of the, 86, 187, 21 1,
254, 274.
Horsemen, the two, 142.
Human governments, 82.

laws, 43, 108, III.

nature depraved, 19, 22, 50,
117, 120, 121.
Humility, false, 204.
Hygienic laws, 83.
Hypocrites, portion of, 104.

*' I asked the heavens," 18.

" I am a great sinner," 156.

" I hear the words of love," 227.

*' I'm a poor sinner, and nothing at

all," 296.
Ignorance of God, 8.

302

ANALYTICAL INDEX

Ignorance, sins of, 53.
Immutability ascribed to Christ, 88.
Indifference to religion, 8.
Infidelity, dreariness of, 1 1.
Intellectual philosophy, 173.
Isaiah on Christ, 149.
Israel, release of, 205.

Jacob wrestling, 276.

James, Apostle, on faith and works,

69.
Jeremiah, temptation of, 249.
Jerusalem, Christ weeps over, 13,

32.
Jesus, grace of, 97,

sacrifice of, 16.
Jews, character of the, 31, 63.

condemnation of, 11-14.

crucify Christ, 33.
Job, temptation of, 248, 249.
Joining the Church, 75, 130, 140.
Joseph of Arimathea, 172.
Judgment Day, 53, 75, 1 10,
Julius Caesar, assassination of, 174,
Justice satisfied, 97.
Justification of the believer, 58, 102.

Knov^^ledge based on testimony,
265, 267.

based on the senses, 265.
consciousness based on, 265,
267, 269.

Law at Sinai, 79,

cannot justify, 1 12.

Christ the end of the, 77, 93,

97, loi, 102, 136.
civil, 56, 71.
end of the, 77, 93, 97, loi,

102, 136.
human, 43, 71, 80, 82, 107,

III.
hygienic, 82.
knows no mercy, 109.
Levitical, 138.
man's trial under the, 22.
meaning of the word, 80.
of mind, 83.

Law of God, 57, 70, 71, 72, 80,
96, 107, 136.

gravitation, 48, 82.
the spiritual world, 48.
physical, 47.

preaching the, loi, 102, 140.

requisitions of the, 132.

righteousness of the, 107.

rule of life, 98.

satisfied, 97, 139,

salvation not by the, 1 19.
Lazarus, Christ and, 13.

resurrection of, 13, 168, 180.
Legalism, error of, 98.
Levitical law, 138.
Life, spiritual, 26.
Light, velocity of, 174.
Lindsay on Hebrews, 278.
Lord's Prayer, the, 237.

Supper, 75, 104, 156, 170.
Love of God, 9, 143.

to God, 81.
Luther and the devil, 190.

Man, duty of, 108.

responsible for his belief, 35.
Man's need of salvation, 10,
Man's Righteousness Cannot Save

Him, 54, 76.
Man's Sincerity Cannot Save Him,

29-53-
Mary, Queen of Scots, 163.
Mercy of God, 73, 83, 142.
Merits of Christ, 100.
Messiah, meaning of, 86.
Milton, John, 174.
Mind, believe with the, 173, 174,
175, 182, 187, 188.
carnal, 123.
constitution of the, 49.
laws pertaining to, 83.
Ministers, Christian, 106, 140, 147.
Mouth, confess with thy, 163, 168,

171.
Moral nature, rules of the, 83.
Morality cannot save, 76, 81, 84,
104, 109, 114.
Rousseau on, 56.

ATTALYTICAL INDEX

303

Moses, temptation of, 248, 249.
Mother, love of a, 17.

Napoleon I, 190, 206.

Nathanael, faith of, 183.

Nature, depraved, 19, 22, 51, 1 17,

120, 121.
meaning of, 128.
old, unchanged, 129,
Need of salvation, 7, 10.
Nehemiah, prayer of, 253.
New birth, the, 26, 157, 168, 216,

226.
Nicodemus and Christ, 15, 25, 51,
No Hope for the Sinner in the

Law, 103, 131.
Nothing Between the Sinner and

the Saviour, 132, 162.
" Nothing, either great or small,"

161.
Now is the day of salvation, 153.

Old Nanny's faith, 194.
Old Testament saints, 138.
Omnipotence of Christ, 89, 241.
Omnipresence of Christ, 89.
Omniscience of Christ, 89, 241.
God, 53.

Paradise Lost, 174.

Passover, the, 49, 205.

Paul, character of, 12, 41, 62, 63.

conversion of, 41, 189.

on baptism, 160.
faith and works, 69.
the Jews, 11.

persecutes Christians, 155.

preaches at Antioch, 189.
Penalty, meaning of, 133.
Penitent, unbelieving, 258.
Pentecost, day of, 148, 188.
Perseverance of the Lord, 195.

saints, 195.
Peter, confession of, 184, 242.

visits Cornelius, 229.
Pharisee and The Publican, 13.
Pharisees, character of the, 13, 31,
62, 184.

Philip and the Eunuch, 149.
Philippi, jailer of, 151, 295.
Philosophers, heathen, 50.
Philosophy, heathen, 50.

intellectual, 50, 173.
Physical lavv^s, 47.
Physician, confidence in a, 281.
Pilate, Pontius, 52, 172.
Poets in early history, 19.
*' Pray without ceasing," 252.
Prayer and belief, 38.

definition of, 234.

efficacy of, 239.

ejaculatory, 254.

Lord's, 237.

to Christ, 232.

wandering thoughts in, 260.
Prayer-book, Episcopal, 109.
Preaching the Law, 10 1, 140.
Precepts of the Jews, 63.
Priests of Baal, 257.
Principles and actions, 38.
Prodigal son, 133.
Profession of religion, 141.
Punishment everlasting, 27.

of sin, 83.

vicarious, 134, 138.

Redeem, meaning of, 95.
Regeneration, errors respecting,
127.

evidences of, 293.

fruits of, 158.
Rejection of Christ, 14, 27, 34, 52,

118.
Religion, indifference to, 7, 51.

profession of, 14 1.
Religious opinions, 1 15,
Renan, cavils of, 173.
Repentance and faith, 158.

meaning of, 158.
Responsibility for belief, 35, 40,

44, 47. 49.

conduct, 38.
Resurrection. See Christ.
Right and wrong, Hobbes on, 56.

standard of, 56.
Righteousness Cannot Save, 54, 76.

304

ANALYTICAL INDEX

Righteousness, gift of grace, 70.

meaning of, 54.

of God, 57, 60.

the Law, 107.
Robinson's Lexicon, 55.
Romans, Epistle to the, 1 1, 54, 57.
Rousseau on morality, 56.
Russian mother, 17.

serf, 17.

Sacrifice of Christ, 16, 208.
Safety, Believer's, 194, 227.
Sailor, conversion of a, 256.
Saints, perseverance of the, I94.
Salvation a free gift, 144.

by faith, 165.
grace, 144.

conditions of, 164.

day of, now, ic^.

instant, 160.

need of, 7, 10.

nigh to all, 142.
Samaria, woman of, 183.
Samaritans believe, 179.
Sanctification described, 223.

errors respecting, 126.

growth of, 221.
Sandals, use of, 259.
Saul, conversion of, 189, 224.
Saved, believer knows he is, 270.

way to be, 145.
Saviour Near the Sinner, 132, 163.
Scapegoat, the, 208,
Sceptic, fatal error of the, lO.
Scholars, the two, 134.
Scribes, righteousness of the, 62.
Scriptures convince of sin, 8.

reveal God's will, 56,
Senses, evidence of the, 265, 267.
Servant girl on prayer, 252.
Sight, recovery of, 272.
Sin, conviction of, 7.

defined, 84.

punishment of, 84.

unconsciousness of, 41.
Sin-bearer, Christ the, 187.
Sincerity Cannot Save, 29, 35.
Sinner for life, 291.

Sinner, Saviour Near the, 1 32, 162.
Sins of believers, 214.

ignorance, 53.

pardoned, 292.
Soul, faculties of the, 172.
Spiritual life, 26.
Stephen, martyrdom of, 92.
Stillingfleet on regeneration, 128.
Strauss, cavils of, 173.
Substitute, Christ a, 135.
Sun, distance of the, 174.
Sunday-schools, 275, 276.

Teamster, converted, 155.
Testimony, knowledge based on,

265, 267, 269.
Theft, p'lnishment of, 43.
Thief, dying, how saved, 146, 154,

160,
Thieves on the cross, 146.
Thomas, confession of, 172.

worships Christ, 91.
Thomas, the teamster, 156.
Tiger, nature of the, 23.
Titles of Christ, 183.
Tongues, gift of, 148.
Truth, Bacon on, 53.

organ of, 50, 52.

Pilate and, 52.

what is, 52.
Types, ancient, 138, 139.

Unbelief, effects of, 16.

sin of, 17, 28, 37, 236.

source of, 19.
Unbelievers, portion of, 104.
Unbelieving penitent, 258.

Veracity, confidence in, 281.
Vicarious punishment, 134, 138.

Wandering thoughts in prayer,

260,
Wash, meaning of, 259.
Washed, meaning of, 259.
Washington, George, 176, 266,
Webster, on " Nature," 128.
" penalty," 134.

ANALYTICAL IT^DEX

305

Webster, on " righteousness," 55,

57-
Westminster Assembly, Catechism

of, 275.

Confession, 273.
"Whosoever believeth," 195.
Will of God, 109.
Woman of Samaria, 183.
Worcester on " law," 80.

Worcester on " penally," 133.
Word of God, revealed, 8.
Wordsworth on justihcation, 58.
Works of the flesh, 119.

without faith, 69.
Wrong, test of, 56.

Young ruler, 113.

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